Perceived threats and risks
Identity risks and doxxing
The aftermath of the 2021 coup has made identifying oneself as a journalist—not even
necessarily reporting—a significant security threat. In Myanmar, the national ID card
requires individuals to declare their occupation. For our interviewees, who have been
practising journalism since the 2010s, this requirement has inadvertently flagged
them as potential targets due to their listed profession.
This situation leads to increased fear of dealing with any administrative body and the
threat of identity papers and/or passports losing their validity. The office of one
journalist (#4) was raided and several others (#1, #5, #6, #8) reported the
presence of possible lists with their names on them. One journalist (#6) feared that
being on the guest list for a press conference of the former democratic government
could lead to an arrest. He also expressed his fear of getting doxxed on pro-military
Telegram channels if his status as a journalist became publicly known.
Travel risks
Travel, essential to reporting, indeed poses significant risks to journalists, especially
for journalists who frequent conflict zones such as Sagaing (#2). Besides airports,
military checkpoints—pervasive throughout Myanmar—are especially perilous for
multimedia journalists (#2, #3, #5, and #6), who carry conspicuous equipment like
cameras and laptops.
Most journalists interviewed reported that bringing a laptop or a camera on trips was
unwise. This makes upholding more digitally secure working practices challenging, as
journalists often work with borrowed or locally sourced devices. Additionally, the fear
of military personnel investigating their devices has led several journalists (#6, #1,
#8) to delete from their phones virtual private network (VPN) and messaging apps
(e.g., Signal, Telegram) that can increase their digital security. 5
5. As will be explained in the Section “Low-tech and Analogue Inspections,” these measures are calculated choices
made to mitigate immediate physical risks from direct confrontation with military inspections rather than digital
threats like hacking.
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