5/22/22, 12:03 AM Myanmar: Freedom on the Net 2021 Country Report | Freedom House information and combat “fake” reports from international media, often citing coverage related to the Rohingya people. Major social media companies have attempted to limit the spread of manipulated information emanating from the military (see B3). YouTube removed some accounts run by the military and imposed limits on others for disseminating disinformation after the coup. 173 In February 2021, Facebook banned the remaining military accounts on its main platform and on Instagram, including those of military-controlled media outlets and companies. 174 Military officials were also found to manipulate content during previous coverage periods. 175 The military regularly published inflammatory material on Facebook before being banned by the platform in 2018 (see B2). 176 According to multiple sources, nearly 700 military officials had been involved in a systematic campaign of disinformation for five years, creating and managing fake Facebook accounts and pages, which were then used to share false, misleading, and inciting content. Organized troll accounts allegedly helped spread the content to reach more users. 177 In 2019, Facebook banned a number of pages and accounts for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” some of which were allegedly run by persons associated with the military. 178 An article published after the coverage period in June 2021, however, found that Facebook’s pagerecommendation algorithm had been amplifying military content that violated many of its own violence and misinformation policies. 179 Hard-liners who spread derogatory and violent statements about the Rohingya on Facebook, Viber, and WhatsApp, among other social media platforms, have widened their efforts to target other marginalized groups over the past several years. Before being banned by Facebook in 2018, the ultranationalist monk Wirathu, who is affiliated with Ma Ba Tha, regularly spread disinformation and false narratives through posts and videos that were shared by thousands of followers, and that allegedly stoked real-world violence. 180 B6 0-3 pts Are there economic or regulatory constraints that negatively affect users’ ability to publish content online? 0/3 Score Change: The score declined from 1 to 0 because the space for journalists and users to publish online has been dramatically diminished since the coup, especially as the military stripped major media outlets of their licenses in retaliation for their coverage. Between the February 2021 coup and the end of the coverage period, the military revoked the licenses of seven major media outlets and ordered telecommunications companies to block their websites. 181 A state television outlet announced in March 2021 that five independent media companies—Myanmar Now, Khit Thit Media, Democratic Voice of Burma, Mizzima, and 7Day News, all of which had been covering the anticoup protests—were “no longer allowed to broadcast or write or give information by TOP using any kind of media platform or using any media technology.” 182 The 2014 Printing and Publishing Law created the licensing regime for publishing houses, news agencies, and websites, and these outlets must register prior to producing content, including for publishing online. https://freedomhouse.org/country/myanmar/freedom-net/2021 14/28