Mobile Myanmar: The Impact of Social Media on Young People Living in Conflict-Affected Regions of Myanmar One participant reported that when their parents ask them about certain posts they see using their own social media account, they will take over and clean up their parents’ social media by unfollowing certain pages. Other urban participants noted that their parents (and also some teachers) are unaware of what is real or fake online. However, compared to the responses from the rural participants, urban participants gave more examples of tips from parents and teachers on how to use their social media accounts (presumably because their parents and teachers are more digitally literate compared to rural parents and teachers). These included not posting too many images (especially not personal or identifiable images), not sharing real information about themselves, not tagging friends (as other people will be able to view the images also) and communicating only with people they know. A participant reported that a teacher suggested limited screen time due to physical damage of the eyes. Some urban participants were restricted from social media by not being allowed a phone or internet use until high school or their exams are over. As such some university-aged participants were relatively new to using technology (and/or the internet). According to the facilitators, the girls from the urban locations shared more tips from their parents, while the boys noted that they were scolded for using their devices for too long. Fake news and propaganda Participants described fake news as either news that is not true, as presenting information that is over exaggerated or used as scare tactics to trick people, or as propaganda: “Making people believe in the thing you want to do. For example, a political party uses propaganda to get more support.” Male, 22 years, Kayan Buddhist, Loikaw (Kayah State urban) Common examples of fake news provided by participants from both the rural and urban locations included the use of images which were not their own, photoshopped or fabricated images, false information describing images, and scams (including chain posts and ‘hopeful posts’ about winning lotto or prizes). Facilitators from the rural locations noted that there is no direct translation of the word ‘propaganda’ in the Kayah and Kayan languages, and as such these participants don’t know what it is, and had difficulty differentiating the concept of propaganda from fake news. However, the concept of propaganda was understood by the majority of urban participants and described as something that ignites conflict and gets people to choose a side. Participants from both rural and urban locations note that it often focuses on religion and showing either positive or negative sides of a particular religion using extremist language. “Propaganda is news related to race and religion that attack other sides.” Male, 25 years, Kayan Christian, Kyun Taw Village (Kayah State rural) Participants from both the rural and urban locations reported having checked whether something was fake news or not in the past. Examples of how they do this included checking the quality of the writing (i.e., was it a personal point of view, were details provided, etc.), check the quality of the image used, check if the organisation is reputable, read the comments, check against other news sources, and if it is local news, observe what is around them. A few participants from both rural and urban locations reported that they would simply decide for themselves. Some urban participants said that they would base their decision on the legitimacy of a story on how many likes and shares it had received, or how often they had seen it. 38