5/6/24, 11:09 AM Myanmar | RSF disbanded in 2011. Myanmar Media outlets Politics Laws Economy Society Safety Pre Media landscape The 2021 coup shattered the media landscape. The junta quickly issued a list of media outlets that were banned for being outspoken, including the Democratic Voice of Burma, a media emblematic of the fight for press freedom. Many media outlets forced into exile have had to return to clandestine reporting techniques developed during the previous decades of military dictatorship to continue gathering reliable information inside the country. The government-controlled media, on the other hand, are just propaganda outlets that receive scant attention from the population. Between these two extremes, a handful of media outlets tread a delicate path between trying to inform their fellow citizens and the need to not offend the generals. Political context The State Administration Council does not tolerate an alternative to its narrative. To this end, it has reestablished the system of prior censorship and prevented the media from covering the numerous human rights violations. The head of the junta, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, openly promotes a policy of terror towards journalists who do not toe the junta’s line. Legal framework As well as often taking completely arbitrary action, the generals almost systematically invoke the very vaguely worded Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code, under which “false information” is punishable by three years in prison. Use is also made of Section 66 (d) of the telecommunications law, another legal archaism that criminalises defamation and can be used to send a journalist to prison if anyone disputes what they have written. Economic context https://rsf.org/en/country/myanmar 2/3