16 M. THE-THITSAR local media and on Facebook. Regarding RCSS’s news, we mostly receive through ‘Tai Free Time’ on Facebook, which we can even say is RCSS’s newspaper or news journal, where we can also see his (General Ywat Sit’s) activities and his political opinions. The page is mostly broadcast in Shan language. Some respondents from Rakhine state expressed challenges in getting access to news about the Arakan Army and its leaders, who they identified as important leaders for Rakhine people and an instrument for self-determination. A Rakhine woman in her 20s said: As internet is shut down, it is hard for us to know what’s happening down there in villages . . . Now news about Arakan Army and its General Tun Myat Naing can be seen only through interviews by Eleven media [a private media in Myanmar]. Before AA’s Facebook page was shut down,73 we were able to get more updated information about what they’re doing and where armed clashes occurred between the two sides [AA and the government armed forces] and how. According to interviews, information about leaders with political party backgrounds is more readily available through Facebook. All major political parties, including ethnic parties, have Facebook pages and share their activities and political standpoints and opinions through their Facebook platforms. Most leaders also share information through their personal Facebook pages. All respondents who identified leaders from a political background confirmed that they had received updates about their leaders through Facebook. A Chin woman respondent who in her 20s said: During these days, I have been seeing more of our ethnic leaders, such as Ma Cherry Zahaung and Sayar Lian Hmung . . . For instance, Ma Cherry is a woman, active and open to what she wants to say and stand with what she thinks is right, for example, she openly stands with ‘Bengali’ [Myanmar’s stateless Rohingya minority]. Sayar Lian Hmung stands in a right way with peace process and federal issues. I also read his books. I don’t know them personally. But, I feel uplifted and encouraged by seeing and hearing their activities, mostly through Facebook, and appreciate that we have such kind of good leaders . . . Some of my friends, even Myanmar friends, also shared their posts on Facebook. Conclusion While there are many other factors that constrain the ability of minority language speakers to use their languages, Facebook has conferred a certain advantage on Burmese as the only official Facebook language among Myanmar’s myriad languages. My findings show that Burmese is the most-widely used language on Facebook by both Bamar and non-Bamar users. The popularity of Burmese is also enhanced by the availability of digitized keyboards in outlets across the country, which further consoli­ dates Burmese as a medium of communication on Facebook among the country’s minority language speakers. However, while Facebook language policy may seem to perpetuate the status quo in Myanmar by providing automatic translation and other supports, the gap created by Facebook between Burmese and non-Burmese speakers may not be that large given the limitations associated with Burmese as a ‘low-resource language,’ and given that nonBurmese speakers are able to use other multiple functions offered by Facebook to communicate and preserve their language and identity.