Case 1:20-mc-00036-JEB-ZMF Document 22 Filed 09/22/21 Page 5 of 32 12. Undoubtedly Facebook had “a powerful democratizing effect in Myanmar by exposing millions of people to concepts like democracy and human rights.” Id. However, “[d]igital literacy [was] generally low across the country, and many people [found] it difficult to verify or differentiate content (for example, real news from misinformation).” Id. Myanmar officials were therefore able to credibly “spread rumors about people and events” via Facebook. Id. at 13. Facebook content “contributed to shaping public opinion on the Rohingya and Muslims more generally,” U.N. Report at ¶ 696, and was used “to spread anti-Muslim, anti-Rohingya, and anti-activist sentiment,” HRIA at 24. Specifically, “organized groups [made] use of multiple fake accounts and news pages to spread hate speech, fake news, and misinformation for political gain.” Id. at 13. The viral spread of disinformation on Facebook led to instances of “communal violence and mob justice.” Id. The U.N. Mission concluded that Myanmar officials weaponized Facebook for “a carefully crafted hate campaign [to] develop[] a negative perception of Muslims among the broad population in Myanmar.” U.N. Report at ¶ 696. This hate campaign portrayed “the Rohingya and other Muslims as an existential threat to Myanmar and to Buddhism. In the case of the Rohingya, it [went] a step further. It [was] accompanied by dehumanising language and the branding of the entire community as ‘illegal . . . immigrants.’” Id. For example, on June 1, 2012, Zaw Htay, the spokesperson for the President of Myanmar, posted a statement advocating for the destruction of the Rohingya to his personal Facebook account: Rohingya terrorists as members of the [Rohingya Solidarity Organization] are crossing the border into Myanmar with weapons. . . . Our troops have received the news in advance so they will completely destroy them [the Rohingya]. It can be assumed that the troops are already destroying them [the Rohingya]. We don’t want to hear any humanitarian or human rights excuses. We don’t want to hear your moral superiority, or so-called peace and loving kindness. (Go and look at Buthidaung, Maungdaw areas in Rakhine State. Our ethnic people are in constant fear in their own land. I feel very bitter about this. This is our country. This is our 5