UN Blames Facebook for Its Role in Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis

More than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh and other neighboring countries since Myanmar launched its military operation against “insurgents” in its Rakhine state in August last year. United Nations which is investigating the situation in Myanmar have come out harshly this time, blaming Facebook in stirring up hatred against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, calling it a “beast”.

Human rights experts of United Nations investigating a genocide in Myanmar have said that Facebook had played a role in spreading hate speech against the Muslim Rohingya minority.

The head of United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, Marzuki Darusman told reporters during a press conference, how social media had played a determining role in Myanmar. “It has substantively contributed to the level of acrimony and dissension and conflict. Hate speech is certainly a part of that. In Myanmar social media is Facebook and Facebook is social media,” he said.

United Nations Myanmar investigator, Yanghee Lee also said Facebook was a huge part of public, civil and private life and the government uses it to disseminate information to the public. It has no doubt also helped the impoverished country but is now been used to spread hate speech. “I'm afraid that Facebook has now turned into a beast and not what it originally intended.” Yanghee Lee's said. The media briefing is also followed by the release of pictures on Rohingya crisis by the human rights group Amnesty International.

Facebook issued a reaction after the United Nations observations on its working in Myanmar, saying there is “no place for hate speech” on its platform. “Facebook takes this observations by UN very seriously and we have worked with experts in Myanmar for several years to develop safety resources and counter-speech campaigns”. It also said that there is always an scope for improvement and it assures that it will work improving its working in Myanmar by involving the local experts, thereby keeping the community safe in Myanmar. The Facebook spokesperson informed through a release.

The three-member United Nations fact finding mission was established in March last year to investigate allegations of human rights abuses against ethnic minorities in Myanmar’s Rakhine, Shan, and Kachin States.

The United Nations report is based on more than 600 interviews, which were carried out in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand, with human rights abuse victims and witnesses. Many have provided harrowing testimonies of executions and rapes by Myanmar forces. People died from gun firing, often due to indiscriminate shooting at fleeing villagers. Some were burned alive in their homes - often the elderly, disabled and young children. Others were hacked to death.

In addition, the team has analysed satellite imagery, photographs and video footage taken within Myanmar. But the government of Myanmar demanded “clear evidence” to support United Nation’s allegations of crimes against Rohingya.

In Myanmar, everything is controlled by the Military of the country. Facebook is so widely used in all-important functions that people look at it as the entire Internet and therefore it is the main source of information for its citizens. It is also therefore easy for nationalists and ultra nationalist to use the platform to incite hatred against the Rohingya minorities. 

Anti-Rohingya campaigns on Facebook come up from various sources including government and military accounts but most inciting campaigns were from ultra-nationalist Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu. Anti Rohingya campaigns were done with the contents, such as extremely racist and politically motivated cartoons, fake images and purported news items thereby shaping public perception. Even violence against Rohingyas are very much supported and celebrated online.

Time to time, Facebook, has come under considerable criticism over its use in Myanmar and the social networking company, claims that it has made some efforts to stem the spread of hate speech and propaganda on its platform, working with local NGOs to enforce its community standards and promote tolerance.

Last month, the network suspended the page of firebrand ultra-nationalist monk Wirathu, who recently emerged from a one year public preaching ban to claim that Rakhine was experiencing “terrorism of Bengalis,” a slur that implies the Rohingya are indigenous to neighboring Bangladesh and are merely interlopers in Myanmar. Wirathu dismissed Facebook’s ban on him, saying he would now rely on Twitter and YouTube to continue his “nationalist work.”

The United Nations also has said that the government of Myanmar has attempted to block its efforts to carry out an independent investigation. A final report from the United Nations team is due to be published in September this year.