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These past 8 days in #Myanmar, we have seen clear examples as to why it is of utmost importance to ensure access to information in a time of crisis. Particularly with a lot of people relying on social media for information – as is the case in the country. THREAD 1/14
When the military took power on Feb 1 and detained key leaders, incl #AungSanSuuKyi, they closed all key information/communication channels for 5 hours, leaving people in the dark as to what was happening. That – naturally – led to a lot of rumours and speculation online 2/14
Exhibit 1: When a written statement was released by the NLD on one of their verified Facebook accounts later in the day with a request to the people from #AungSanSuuKyi to “fully oppose the military coup and resoundingly resist against it” people did not know what to believe 3/14
Was this a move by the military (who now had #AungSanSuuKyi & other NLD leaders in custody) and thereby supposedly had access to NLD accounts? Were they intentionally spreading “fake news” to drive out activists and NLD supporters? or was it indeed NLD asking for resistance? 4/14
The situation was even more confusing to people as an NLD spokesperson earlier in the day in an interview with @reuters had urged people to “not respond rashly” and “act according to the law” 5/14
Although the issue was resolved some days later when the NLD released another similar statement – it still created a lot of confusion in the early days of the coup and divided people on the issue in a time where more division definitely wasn’t needed 6/14
Exhibit 2: The situation quickly went from bad to worse when the military first ordered telecom companies to shut down access to Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Twitter before finally shutting down mobile access and the internet completely on Feb 5. 7/14
Now most people had almost no chance of getting information not released by the military – particularly outside of the bigger cities. And rumours began quickly to circulate and create a lot of uncertainty 8/14
On Feb 6, for instance, rumours that #AungSanSuuKyi had been released circulated – with some people beginning to celebrate in the streets upon hearing it. Other rumours claimed the detained president to be dead 9/14
Both rumours were fake. But with no place to immediately verify information, people didn’t know what to believe. The feeling of navigating in darkness can both be terrifying and numbing – precisely the level of control you want to be having as instigator of a coup 10/14
Today, the internet is (to some extent) back on in #Myanmar and although a sigh of relief can be heard now that people once again can go online and communicate with one another it is clear that the information wars are not over 11/14
As people are marching in the streets opposing the coup, mis and #disinformation is spreading online. For instance, of snipers luring on rooftops (FALSE!) and old images from the Saffron revolution is resurfacing with people believing it to be from today 12/14
Factcheckers ( @myanmarido & @beforetrust) and reporters do what they can to debunk and verify information but it is a constant catch-up game with only few independent media being able to fully operate 13/14
More than ever independent voices and access to reliable information is needed in #Myanmar. Otherwise, confusion, mistrust and chaos will dominate with many being left in the dark. #whatishappeninginMyanmar 14/14
