Myanmar Military Junta Turns to TikTok, Other Social Media Platforms After YouTube Ban
Updated: Aug 21, 2021
A mobile phone showing a Myanmar man in an army shirt threatening to kill anti-coup protestors. Credit: Reuters
Members of Myanmar’s military junta have recently turned to Tiktok to send death threats to protestors after being banned from YouTube.
In one particular video, as covered by Reuters, a man in an army shirt addressed protestors that he was going to “patrol the whole city [that night]” and will shoot whoever he sees. Tiktok announced that it will remove content that incites violence from its platform after a public outcry to remove similar content from its platform.
A spokesperson from the military junta did not respond to Reuters’ request for a comment on the members’ videos.
Reuters stated that researchers have said that the military junta has also been trying to build its presence on other social media platforms after Facebook banned Myanmar’s military and its affiliates from its platforms. In response, the military junta ordered Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to be blocked in the country.
Credit: YouTube
Recently, Alphabet Inc’s YouTube removed five of Myanmar’s military-run channels hosted on its platform due to the country’s ongoing coup d’etat.
A YouTube spokeswoman stated that the channels were removed “in accordance with the platform’s community guidelines and applicable laws,” as a response to a question from Reuters. The channels that were taken down were the state’s network, Myanmar Radio and Television, the military-owned Myawaddy Media, MWD Variety and MWD Myanmar.
The military junta formed on 2 February 2021, when Myanmar’s military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, decided to oust the country’s government due to alleged voter fraud during their elections in November 2020.
Written by John Paul Joaquin