From 2015 to 2020, Myanmar experienced a golden era of social media freedom. For the first time, netizens had unrestricted access to the internet, and they eagerly embraced it. People used this newfound freedom for education, business, and self-expression. Social media trends flourished, and many individuals rose to fame as “social media influencers,” a status once unattainable for the average person in Myanmar.
Before the internet became widely accessible, influencers in Myanmar were primarily movie stars, writers, and musicians. Their reach was limited, and connecting with audiences required traditional media like films, recordings, and magazines, which took a long time to produce and distribute. Becoming an influencer was challenging, with only a small percentage achieving widespread recognition.
In the late 1990s to early 2000s, people eagerly awaited colorful lifestyle magazines to read interviews and comments from their favorite influencers. These monthly publications were among the few ways to connect with public figures. By 2011, as digital media began to emerge, print magazines started innovating by including DVDs with filmed interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. This was the closest influencers could get to their audience at the time, though the content still took time to reach them. Even then, a single comment from an influencer could significantly impact the daily lives of their followers.
When daily printed journals peaked, Myanmar finally had the chance to hear from beloved public figures regularly. However, this was still during military rule, where all media was heavily censored, and audiences were fed sanitized content devoid of political dissent. What many didn’t realize was that a new underground platform was quietly taking shape, led by innovative youth mostly outside the country. This platform, based on the “World Wide Web,” was beyond the reach of the regime’s conservative control and censorship. This underground digital movement would eventually become a powerful force, challenging the status quo and giving rise to a new era of influence in Myanmar.
Around 2002, Bagan Cybertech, a telecommunications company founded by the son of General Khin Nyunt, a notorious military intelligence head, introduced limited internet access to the public. The regime forbade general internet users from accessing political websites and non-state news sources. Users had limited options: they could either use email or participate in the Bagan Cybertech internet forum. Given that Khin Nyunt’s son owned the company, the services were heavily monitored and restricted. Despite these limitations, more people began using email and forums. These early efforts showed how the internet could be a tool for sharing information, expressing opinions, and connecting with others across different social groups.
Nay Phone Latt, the spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office of the National Unity Government, recalled the past: “When I was working in Singapore around 2006 to 2007, ‘Blogger.com’ was launched. For people like me, who love to read, write, and share with the world, it was a dream come true. Many Burmese bloggers emerged after the ZawGyi font was made available for free.” Blogging played a key role in the anti-government movement, both for people inside the country and opposition groups outside Myanmar. After the 1990 sham election, many politicians, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy, were tortured and imprisoned for years, while others went underground. Many survivors continued to voice their resistance through international broadcasting channels, though Myanmar’s citizens remained largely cut off from this information due to the country’s information blockade.
In the mid-2000s, internet technology helped resurface the army’s long-hidden atrocities, giving the Millennial Generation its first glimpse into the 1988 uprising they had only heard about. I vividly remember attempting to access restricted forums and websites in internet cafes to see footage of police and soldiers shouting vulgar words at protesters, shooting at them, and marching with bayonets—protesters covered in their own blood being carried away by their comrades. At the cost of 1,000 kyats per hour in an internet café, I began to understand the horrors of the 1988 revolution through political blogs.
After Khin Nyunt was overthrown and arrested in 2004, Bagan Cybertech was nationalized under military control, and internet activity declined while costs for the general public increased. Despite these restrictions, internet cafés found innovative ways to provide access, such as installing foreign-hosted proxy sites, allowing bloggers to continue opposing the military government. In 2007, during the Saffron Revolution, atrocities committed by the military were exposed to the world by bloggers, citizen journalists, and journalists on the ground. Nay Phone Latt recalled, “During the Saffron Revolution, Myanmar bloggers documented as much of the military’s brutality as they could. Although they didn’t post these records on their own blogs, they used different methods to ensure the world knew what was happening.”
Authorities responded by introducing new restrictions to curb the spread of information. Military intelligence and plainclothes police closely monitored internet cafés. Despite these dangers, citizen journalists and bloggers managed to upload images and videos from local cafés and email them to contacts outside the country. In a drastic attempt to block news from spreading, the military government cut all international internet connections and temporarily suspended most cell phone services on September 29, 2007. Blogger Nay Phone Latt was arrested on January 29, 2008, and sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison. According to RFA, at least 14 public figures, including Nay Phone Latt, were among over 3,000 people detained during the Saffron Revolution. Thanks to bloggers and citizen journalists, the world saw the truth about the military’s actions, including footage of a Japanese journalist being shot by the army. During this time, global media increasingly relied on information from citizen journalists rather than international news agencies.
After Myanmar transitioned to a semi-democratic government, there was a surge of hope among its citizens. The government relaxed restrictions, and for the first time, people enjoyed freedom of the press and internet access. As Nay Phone Latt pointed out, this newfound freedom made it harder for dictators to spread propaganda and allowed people to see the world from different perspectives. By 2013, censorship had eased significantly, enabling Myanmar’s people to connect globally through social media. Facebook quickly became the most popular platform, and Myanmar’s own influencers emerged alongside international ones.
These influencers covered a wide range of topics, from political commentary and literature quotes to beauty reviews and travel vlogs. The expansion of 4G networks and mobile internet access gave them the tools to explore the online world just like everyone else. Social media influencers became increasingly important. Unlike traditional media, social media allowed for direct interaction between influencers and their audience, making fame and influence more accessible to ordinary people. This was especially valuable for political influencers, who could finally discuss topics that had been off-limits for decades.
From 2011 to 2020, Myanmar’s netizens seized the opportunity to debate and discuss major political issues, from ethnic conflicts to the actions of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Rohingya crisis. Political influencers, both seasoned and new, played a key role in shaping public discourse. Heated debates became the norm on social media, reflecting the country’s growing democratic spirit.
However, everything changed in 2021 when Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup, seizing control of the country against the will of its people. This sparked massive protests, with influencers from all fields joining the fight against military dictatorship. They used their platforms to rally support and spread awareness. But as the revolution gained momentum, some influencers began sharing rumors and opinions that distracted the public from the real issues. Early in the revolution, when the idea of armed resistance was still forming, social media was flooded with false claims about international intervention, like “US aircraft carriers heading to Myanmar” or “UN armored trucks ready to intervene.” These rumors gave people false hope, diverting attention from the military’s tightening grip on power.
Ma Thida, a respected voice, warned that sharing fake news was dangerous and could erode trust within the movement. One particular rumor about an internal coup within the military regime this month caused widespread panic, despite being based on unverified information. The impact was immediate: fear spread, gold prices and exchange rates became unstable, and people resorted to panic buying. Ma Thida stressed that this emotional turmoil only served the military’s agenda, leading to disunity and confusion among revolutionaries.
Since the coup, the junta has deliberately spread fake news and false hopes to distract the public from the revolution. Ma Thida cautioned that the military would continue to sow suspicion and resentment among revolutionaries to weaken the movement from within. Nay Phone Latt emphasized that influencers must be aware of the impact their posts can have on public perception. He urged the public to be more critical and to verify information before sharing it. While the military’s disinformation campaigns have slowed as they lose ground, false rumors and hopes still circulate, leaving everyone to question who is behind these persistent falsehoods.
“What’s on your mind?” Facebook asks. As Nay Phone Latt urged, “We must think about the impact and the consequences before we click ‘post.’”
