Hate Speech
The rapid uptake of social media use in Myanmar has quickly led to problems. The use of potentially inflammatory statements that some may consider as “hate speech” in the media is rife, and there are well documented instances of vituperative language directed at minority groups, in particular Muslim communities. Ethnicity and religion are extremely sensitive issues in Myanmar as in many parts of the world, and tensions have spilled over into violence in in the last two years. In July, violence broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in Mandalay, reportedly following rumours circulated online that a Buddhist woman had been raped by Muslim men. These allegations were widely circulated on Facebook, by nationalist Buddhist leaders. Facebook was inaccessible, likely on orders of the government, for several hours, coinciding with a government-imposed curfew to dispel the violence. Such tensions don’t just affect social media companies. Certain monasteries are advocating a boycott of Ooredoo SIM cards, because the company is based in a Muslim country.