Fight for survival: Independent media under dictatorship in Myanmar’s Rakhine and Kachin States (Media Desk) looks at media outlets in Rakhine and Kachin states—two regions severely impacted by armed conflict and digital suppression—and how they have adapted and survived amidst escalating repression. The paper explores the tools of digital control employed by the junta, the lived experiences of journalists under such conditions, and the innovative strategies deployed by local media to maintain the flow of information in Myanmar’s increasingly authoritarian digital environment.
Fight for survival: Independent media under dictatorship in Myanmar’s Rakhine and Kachin States
By Media Desk
MYANMAR DIGITAL RESEARCH 22
Executive summary
The 2021 coup in Myanmar resulted not only in a political crisis but also ushered in an era of severe digital repression. Access Now has documented how the military regime has been able to enact internet shutdowns and communications blackouts because of its control of Myanmar’s telecommunications network. These shutdowns are the most severe in regions with strong resistance movements (Access Now, 2024). The Myanmar Internet Project (2024) finds that while all fourteen states and regions are vulnerable to widespread Internet shutdowns, Kachin State and Sagaing Region have been hardest hit by these repressive tactics. Reportedly, the junta plans to roll out further means of digital repression, based on the Chinese model of state surveillance and information control (Nemo, 2022).
Digital repression has severely curtailed media freedom, particularly in the most conflict-prone regions. Engaged Media (2024), for example, has documented numerous incidents where internet and mobile connections were cut off after intense armed clashes. This happened in Rakhine State in early 2024, when the Arakan Army ramped up its fight against the junta. The same pattern was observed in Kachin State, where increased clashes between the Kachin Independence Army and the junta were followed by widespread disruptions of mobile and internet services (Engage Media). These incidents demonstrate the military junta’s concerted efforts to hinder access to information, block news dissemination, and cut off communication among resistance groups.
As the junta continually upgrades its surveillance strategies to target the resistance movement, media outlets struggle to sustain their operations, and operate at greater risk. However, there are few studies that focus on the use of digital platforms for news dissemination by media outlets amidst military surveillance and repression. Therefore, this research probes how mainstream and local media outlets have sustained their operations in digital spaces since the coup, focusing on media from two conflict-affected regions, Rakhine and Kachin. The research dives into the challenges and risks faced by media outlets in news gathering, news operation, and news dissemination, as well as how media outlets have coped with these challenges. The research also provides recommendations for strengthening the resilience of media outlets amidst intense digital repression.
The report is organized into five sections. The first section gives a brief introduction to the rationale, followed by a section that reviews the literature on digital repression after 2021 and the significance of Rakhine and Kachin media outlets’ experience amidst such repression. The third section describes the methodology used in this research. This is followed by our findings, comprising: 1) Non-digital repression since the coup; 2) the junta’s means of digital repression; and 3) how media outlets bypass repression with innovative operations. The report concludes with recommendations emerging from this study.
This paper was produced as part of the Knowledge for Democracy Myanmar (K4DM) initiative, with the aid of a grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with support from The SecDev Foundation. Views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of either organisation.
Myanmar Digital Research series will have researchers within and in the Myanmar diaspora exploring how the digital world is shaping their social, political and economic crisis, bringing new insights into issues facing Myanmar citizens. See below for others available now.