Exploiting Ethnic Conflicts in Attempt to Consolidate Military Control against Burmans, and in future, Burmans would be expelled from their own country; the Shwedagon Pagoda would be destroyed. Meanwhile, the military junta and Burmans were described as neutral to ethnic minorities. In contrast, the MNDAA was portrayed as an organization actively undermining the interests of Burmans and Buddhism. Pro-military Telegram channels reported that Kokang people were furious of the MNDAA’s action against pagoda in Laukkaing, fearing that Burmans would inflict retribution upon them. They also reported that “Kokang people from Mandalay, Mogoke, and Pyinoolwin condemned the destruction of Buddhist pagodas”. Kokang people who didn’t participate in the condemnation were accused as complicit in defaming Buddhism. They also asked for the expulsion and murder of Kokang people who lived in Burmandominated areas. They claimed that “the destruction of Burman residence in Laukkaing didn’t go down well with Burmans,” and they are preparing to take retributive actions on Kokang people residing in Mandalay, Mogoke, and Yangon. The ethnic revolutionary forces’ attacks against the military were distorted and framed in ethno-religious terms, implying that the forces were mere rebels furthering their own interests. Moreover, Burmans and other ethnic groups were set against each other by stating that Burman PDF were being exploited by ethnic dictators and Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations were turning Burmans against Burmans. The military who had oppressed ethnic minorities for decades was portrayed as the benevolent institution protecting the union and governing all ethnic groups without privileging one group over another. Employing the existing military propaganda, the capture of territories by ethnic revolutionary forces was portrayed as not just the loss for the military but the loss of all Myanmar citizens and a threat to the sovereignty of the nation. 26