9/24/21, 8:16 PM Why Facebook is losing the war on hate speech in Myanmar Reuters analyzed Smith’s new Twitter followers in the aftermath of the attacks with assistance from two Twitter analytics services, ExportTweet.com and Mentionmapp Analytics. The analysis showed that more than 1,200 of the new Twitter accounts following Smith were created between August 27 and August 31, at the height of the military crackdown against the Rohingya in western Rakhine state. A review of 564 of those accounts found that 349, or 62 percent, were anti-Rohingya, according to John Gray, Mentionmapp’s co-founder. Mentionmapp did not analyze the viewpoints of the other accounts. A report by Mentionmapp found that the emergence of these accounts probably wasn’t automated - meaning they weren’t bots but appeared to be mainly a short-lived, “orchestrated” anti-Rohingya campaign designed to resemble a grassroots movement. Thirty-one percent of the 1,239 new accounts stopped tweeting by the end of September and became dormant. Gray said he couldn’t “confirm or determine there’s a central organization/operator behind all of the behavior.” Mentionmapp’s report also stated: “It’s fair to say Facebook wasn’t the only home to ‘hate speech’ directed at the Rohingya.” Hatebook By Steve Stecklow Photo editing: Dharmasari Haroun Design: Troy Dunkley Visual editor: Sarah Slobin Edited by Peter Hirschberg         Follow Reuters Investigates   REUTERS INVESTIGATES More Reuters investigations and long-form narratives Got a confidential news tip? Reuters Investigates offers several ways to securely contact our reporters OTHER REUTERS INVESTIGATIONS Pushed Out Danish Siddiqui A drug-trafficking mayor ravaged a local economy, fueling the flight from Honduras A tribute to the Reuters photojournalist who was killed in Afghanistan in July https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/myanmar-facebook-hate/ 12/13