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https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQgMzRBc6P2mmlbqkF70gz2dIwK3ucj5JQTx6ygxjPqveHmT4bR41N_txC38X1ZW1pZ51DgdrEgwbkT/pub https://docs.google.com/docu

https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQgMzRBc6P2mmlbqkF70gz2dIwK3ucj5JQTx6ygxjPqveHmT4bR41N_txC38X1ZW1pZ51DgdrEgwbkT/pub https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vQgMzRBc6P2m... As someone who spent a lot of time in Myanmar in the past 6 years, I saw the country go from near zero internet to 50-60% penetration in a couple of years. The strange thing is that most people don't really use the web - it's all Facebook. The internet, for a vast majority, means Facebook. The way news spreads in Myanmar is gossip and rumours - probably because of very limited press freedom in the past. This combined with some ugly undercurrents of nationalism, extreme poverty (for all ethnicities) in the conflict areas, and decades of poor education, has sometimes turned Facebook into an amplified medium of hate speech. I don't think Facebook is to be blamed for the violence (it has existed, and still does, in many parts of Myanmar against other ethnic minorities - Karen, Kachin, etc - before Facebook, and without the same amount of press given to Rohingya) but it has most likely amplified the hate speech.

varjag 9y ago
It's the same dynamics as elsewhere in the world, just more clearly visible due to extreme effects. Social media brings the fringe that had no platform before and unites them to the extent they are able to effect change. From policy change to outright genocide. Traditional journalism/media always get a ton of criticism, but for all it's flaws they at least strived to have basic standards (fact checking, neutral language) and do their best try of objectivity. With the media circumvented this decade, the crazy grandpas of the world united.
tripzilch 9y ago
This comment from another subthread is relevant to your observations: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16743502 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16743502 Partial quote for your convenience: (read the full comment for sources and more). > FB stopped being a "data sharing platform" when it muscled its way into becoming synonymous of "the internet" in much of the underdeveloped world. In many of these countries (including Myanmar) people can get a really cheap plan that offers next to nothing beyond "Facebook Free Basic", FB's walled garden (e.g for 3$/month you get 100mb of data + unlimited facebook). This is effectively a two-level Internet with FB being the obvious default.

varjag 9y ago

It's the same dynamics as elsewhere in the world, just more clearly visible due to extreme effects. Social media brings the fringe that had no platform before and unites them to the extent they are able to effect change. From policy change to outright genocide. Traditional journalism/media always get a ton of criticism, but for all it's flaws they at least strived to have basic standards (fact checking, neutral language) and do their best try of objectivity. With the media circumvented this decade, the crazy grandpas of the world united.

tripzilch 9y ago

This comment from another subthread is relevant to your observations: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16743502 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16743502 Partial quote for your convenience: (read the full comment for sources and more). > FB stopped being a "data sharing platform" when it muscled its way into becoming synonymous of "the internet" in much of the underdeveloped world. In many of these countries (including Myanmar) people can get a really cheap plan that offers next to nothing beyond "Facebook Free Basic", FB's walled garden (e.g for 3$/month you get 100mb of data + unlimited facebook). This is effectively a two-level Internet with FB being the obvious default.