easily access the news content via their smart phones. Those initial reasons for optimism have now subsided. The internet shutdown in Rakhine and Chin states and current government control of news and information, in some ways harkens back to Myanmar under the military junta. The International Human Rights Clinic and 18 civil society organizations from Myanmar spent more than a year (2019-2020) researching rampant misinformation campaigns by the military and ultranationalist groups. Our findings indicated misinformation has been systematically promoted and disseminated by powerful interests that benefit from the resulting division and conflict in society.119 We also found that Myanmar’s domestic laws including: the 2013 Telecommunications Law, 2014 Printing and Publishing Law, 1923 Official Secrets Act and 1908 Unlawful Associations Act and 2016 Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law120 have been weaponized against journalists, human rights defenders and activists seeking to tell the truth about what’s happening in Myanmar. Every single interviewee from Myanmar spoke about internet shutdown hindering their ability to get accurate news pertaining to both the conflict and COVID-19 pandemic, while Rohingya refugees focused mostly on the pandemic (please see next section for detailed discussion). Kyaw Kyaw who lives in Paletwa Township in Chin state captures the impact that the internet shutdown has had on his ability to get news. He tells us that he has: “Lost connection with the world, unable to get updated information,… unable to read the news and other information online during the time we could not go outside due to the pandemic, and could not access the latest news from the TV program.”121 Abulnawser similarly laments loss of news information stating that, “When we used to get internet access, news media such as BBC and RFA published the news related to the war together with the photos. After the internet cut-off, I don’t see a lot of such kind of news in the media.”122 The theme of “information blackout” overwhelmingly came up in the interviews from Myanmar. Thu Htet San from Mrauk-U Township in Rakhine shared the following: “I think they shut down the internet to create information blackout for the Rakhine people and they assume by doing so will bring political stability. For example, during the active conflict, if any issue arises, internet shutdown can prevent the news from spreading around and inciting mass unrest. I think by blocking the public’s access to the political news, they want to weaken people’s political awareness and to lose interest in the political affairs.”123 119 “Hate Speech Ignited: Understanding Hate Speech in Myanmar,” October 2020, https://hrp.law.harvard.edu/press-releases/myanmar-hate-speech-report/ 120 121 “Hate Speech Ignited,” 73 for full discussion of the laws in Myanmar. Myanmar interview 4. Name changed. 122 123 Myanmar interview 10. Name changed. Myanmar interview 2. Name changed. 28