Photo: Women in a market in a Yangon street in November 2019 (Photo Courtesy of Laure Siegel)
On the morning of the February 1st coup, led by Senior General Min Aung
Hlaing, access to the Internet was cut nationwide in a first attempt to tame
popular organizing and outrage online. The cut was temporary and,
initially, it looked like the new military regime, the State Administration
Council (SAC), would be relatively tolerant of dissent on the streets and
social media. That changed in March when the SAC cracked down. Social
media became a weapon for the junta. Platforms became a means to
spread military propaganda and hunt opponents. Civilians used those same
platforms to expose the brutality, fundraise for the most vulnerable, and
mobilize. On social media and beyond, the Internet became a battleground
and the stakes of online activity became life and death.
1