11/22/22, 4:44 PM ‘Watermelon suppression’: doxing campaign targets pro-democracy soldiers and police | Frontier Myanmar injured. Frontier has not confirmed any actual assassinations related to this campaign. Both channels remained accessible as of publication. In another incident, a Facebook user identified a writer and activist from a military family as a “watermelon”. The post accused the writer of starting a recent campaign to assassinate air force officers, an effort by resistance groups to limit the junta’s ability to conduct air strikes, which give the military a major advantage over resistance groups and have also resulted in widespread civilian casualties. The post shared the writer’s address in Yangon and the name of the town where he is supposedly hiding in Thailand. Although the post was taken down from Facebook, it was shared by a number of pro-military Telegram users where it remains accessible. The profile picture of the “Watermelon Suppression” account shows a watermelon being hacked with a knife (Frontier) Not enough moderation Despite the fact that Telegram users are seemingly inciting violence, directing arrests and encouraging assassinations, Telegram has taken only limited action. The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Frontier, including for this story. Digital activists have also attempted to contact Telegram, warning in a letter that its platform was being used to “cause profound harm” with “very real consequences”. “They don’t respond to any of our communications,” said Wai Phyo Myint with Access Now, one of the groups that wrote the letter to Telegram. “They need to have channels where they engage with civil society and activists and journalists,” said her colleague, Ms Dhevy Sivaprakasam. Sivaprakasam pointed out that Facebook made similar mistakes, but after being implicated in the violent crackdown against the Rohingya in 2017, has been much more proactive in addressing dangerous content. Wai Phyo Myint said it has been more of “a challenge to find a pressure point” on Telegram, given it is based in Dubai, unlike Facebook, which is headquartered in the United States. “Telegram channels targeting pro-democracy supporters clearly intend to incite violence and should be removed for violating the platform’s terms of service,” said a Western diplomat based in Yangon who spoke on condition of anonymity. Telegram was founded in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, who left Russia country in 2014 citing government pressure. Telegram has long resisted moderating content on its platform due to free speech concerns. But there are signs the company is starting to cave to pressure. In February, Telegram took down 64 channels in Germany accused of spreading anti-Semitism and COVID-19 disinformation, after the government threatened to ban the platform. Telegram also banned Russian state media accounts following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now, it has seemingly begun to respond to pressure in Myanmar as well. https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/watermelon-suppression-doxing-campaign-targets-pro-democracy-soldiers-and-police/ 3/10