Although the crisis facing Rohingya communities in Rakhine – and now regionally, in Bangladesh and elsewhere – is by no means new, the dramatic escalation in recent weeks has led to an unprecedented level of humanitarian need for the Rohingya people. The Bangladesh National Human Rights Council is among an increasing number of organizations and individuals prepared to label the crisis as ‘tantamount to genocide’. 1 Access to information has played a central role in the current situation. Lack of information, misinformation, and outright propaganda, have driven the conflict, raising tensions on all sides, stoking rumors, emboldening extremist elements, and masking atrocities. The Rohingya community in particular is remarkably vulnerable to this risk. There is no accessible Rohingya language media, leaving the Rohingya population of up to 1.5 million, now spread between Myanmar and Bangladesh, reliant on information only available in languages other than their own. Trust levels in Rakhine and Burmese language outlets are, unsurprisingly, extremely low.2 Further exacerbating this situation, access to northern Rakhine is highly restricted, including for humanitarian actors and journalists, making it extremely difficult for outside sources - such as international media - to provide useful or practical information for affected communities on the ground. Within this vacuum Rohingya communities are forced to rely on word-of-mouth. These trust networks extend beyond face-to-face communication, however, and although connectivity is limited, information (and misinformation) is effectively spread through mobile and social media. 3 Platforms such as Facebook and Viber are popular, as are politized YouTube and streaming sites such as Rohingya Vision, which operates out of Malaysia. 4 These networks provide an invaluable resource, but at the same time spread dangerous rumors and misinformation. The recent and dramatic escalation of the ongoing Rohingya crisis has resulted, thus far, in more than 300,000 people crossing the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh since the 25th of August. 5 According to the Inter Sector Coordination Group, the majority of arrivals are still on the move, with limited information available to them on where to go, or how to access desperately needed humanitarian services. These new arrivals join the more than 300,000 Rohingya ‘Undocumented Myanmar Nationals’ (UMNs), displaced from earlier bouts of conflict, and who are already located around Cox’s Bazar, in camps and informal settlements. 6 People continue to make the crossing to escape the violence, and these numbers are expected to rise. According to the latest report from the Inter Sector Coordination Group on September 7th, there is an urgent need for more timely and widely accessible information sharing, including clear and uniform messaging on humanitarian assistance to the influx population. 7 The establishment of an information hub and strengthened Communication with Communities, including information on where to access 1 http://www.unb.com.bd/bangladesh-news/Persecution-of-Rohingyas-tantamount-to-genocide-NHRC/50405 Rakhine State News and Information Ecosystem, A Rapid Assessment, Internews, December 2016 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 September 6th, ISCG Cox’s Bazar Influx Situation Report, https://cxbcoordination.org/ 6 July 30th, ISCG Rohnigya Situation in Cox’s Bazar Situation Report, https://cxbcoordination.org/ 7 https://cxbcoordination.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/170907_ISCG-SitRep_Influx-2017.pdf 2