Deadly Posts: Harmful Social Media Content in Post-Coup Myanmar

After the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s social media landscape turned hostile. Military-linked accounts used platforms like Facebook, Telegram, TikTok, and YouTube to spread fear and disinformation. They posted threats, exposed activists’ identities, and incited violence—turning digital spaces into extensions of state repression.

This study draws on local fieldwork and content analysis. It shows that harmful posts don’t try to persuade. They aim to intimidate, normalize brutality, and signal impunity. Ethnic, religious, and gender minorities are common targets. Pro-democracy activists are framed as aggressors. Online abuse often leads to real-world arrests, violence, and trauma. In this environment, posts aren’t just harmful—they can be deadly.

The authors call for urgent action. Platforms must take responsibility for local harms. Civil society groups need tools to document digital violence and protect at-risk users. Without serious intervention, social media will continue to fuel offline attacks and reinforce authoritarian power in Myanmar.

This study is part of the Myanmar Digital Research series published by Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM) with support from International Development Research Centre and The SecDev Foundation.