2.3. The spread of local reporting The overall growth in the number of posts is partly due to an increase in local-level outlets covering grassroots resistance movements in regions like Sagaing. Outlets based in Myanmar’s Bamarmajority administrative Regions, including Sagaing, grew by +108%. Those in the country’s ethnic minority administrative States, such as Karenni, grew by +70%. These rates are higher than the +11% growth in posts by national-level outlets. Outlets based in Myanmar’s Bamarmajority administrative Regions, including Sagaing, grew by +108% As conflict and repression grow, local media increase their focus on documenting the impact. Where the military prevents freedom of movement and often shuts down all communication, local-level media serve as an important source of information, particularly for local marginalised communities. They provide updates on troop movements, safe paths for displaced people, and evidence of local atrocity crimes. This documentation is not just for immediate news, as it serves as an archive for future legal accountability and justice for victims of human rights abuses. 2.4. Reduced information from military-affiliated media While independent media have scaled up their production, military-affiliated outlets have reduced their posts, which are a mixture of entertainment and propaganda. State-owned media significantly reduced their posts by 35%. Military-aligned outlets, most of them television channels covering entertainment, minimally reduced their output by -2%. This decline represents a failure to deliver on the State-owned media State’s positive obligation to provide the public with significantly reduced necessary information, services, and administrative updates. Under international standards, the State their posts by 35% should not publish propaganda. But by withdrawing from its role as a legitimate information provider, the result will be a lack of awareness about many matters of public interest. Such information would cover healthcare issues, educational opportunities, and many other topics that the State controls. Page 8 of 24