July 22
by Murderers of Self-Named Media from the Virtual World
By Min Khant
I wrote an article with the title of ‘Risks of Psychological Warfare, Fake News and Disinformation To Care About’ in State-owned newspapers on 13-5-2022 about the propaganda campaigns of individuals and organizations from local and abroad under so-called media opposing the State Administration Council and Provisional Government temporarily assuming the State’s responsibilities as per the provisions of the 2008 State Constitution as a response to the undeniable electoral frauds and the incidents of breaching the laws in 2020 general elections. The article was again described in Internauka, a Russian scientific journal and on the website of ai-news.ru in the Russian language.
There are certain reasons why the article was featured again in the academic journals and websites of the Russian Federation. It is because the Western media are waging an information war against the Russian Federation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict using fake news and misinformation like the similar ways highlighted in my article that was described in Myanmar newspapers. Otherwise, that is a clear instance proving how powerful countries like Russia besides the small country of Myanmar are under attacks of psychological warfare using such fake news and disinformation.
Along with the rapid development of information and technology in the 21st century, we all can see the attempts of making propaganda via social media platforms with the effective use of technology and money in a systematic manner. Making propaganda and information warfare are being accelerated taking advantage of the political change in Myanmar. In this article, I will make further explanations of how information warfare is being waged in a systematic manner.
In the early days of the political change in Myanmar, disinformation and misinformation floating have been carried out through social media platforms and premediated networks in order to conceal the truth why the Tatmadaw assumed the State’s responsibilities in accordance with the Constitution due to the vote riggings with breaching laws in 2020 elections and then to disseminate the information among people that the military unjustly seized the control of the State as a coup. At the same time, the narratives of people, particularly their Facebook accounts and pages, who pointed out the vote riggings of the then NLD-led government in the 2020 elections, were restricted or removed with the help of the Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm and the Burmese language experts of Facebook Team.
At that point, the people in a strict environment with lockdowns and movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic were also incited in various ways to take the streets as a way out of suffocation. That circumstance was not a coincidence but systematic steps taken as per the theories from the book ‘From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp, an American writer. All forms of demonstrations and protests seen in February 2021 such as people demonstrating in weird clothes and sexy fashions and the pot-banging strikes are the non-violent action methods of Gene Sharp. It can be assumed that Gene Sharp’s methods and social psychology of the people were synchronically deployed. The main course linking all instigations is social media.
In reality, the youths under the beautiful name of Gen Z are the ones who have grown up in the democratic transition period of Myanmar since 2010 in accordance with the 2008 State Constitution and are also a generation familiar with IT technology. In other words, it is also a generation that has been indoctrinated with one-sided ideologies and cultures using the open media and political situation of democracy. The active basic instincts of Gen Z were exploited.
Along with the various forms of demonstrations and protests, there emerged the CDM campaigns inciting civil servants not to go to their offices so as to paralyze the Government mechanism. In fact, although the instigators did not have capacities to take care of the staff who would join CDM, they managed to persuade some government staff to join CDM using incentives of money, rank and position. Although there appeared many narratives on social media platforms pointing out the possible failure of the CDM, such voices were not heard by the public as they were restricted by social media. At present in reality, the term CDM becomes dim and insignificant as the NUG terrorist group and the murderers from the virtual world have already ignored and rejected the CDMers. Some government staff who had believed in the instigations and propaganda are now in some border areas with ruined lives and their family lives are also shattered. Nevertheless, it is glad to see that the SAC government with full sympathy is re-inviting the CDMers.
When the Western bloc and subversive media outlets realized that the CDM campaign is less likely to succeed, they systematically changed the course of the people’s non-violent movements into acts of terrorism through instigations of social media. Synchronously, a US citizen virtually provided online training courses on terrorism to Myanmar youths and moreover, a Singapore-based media revealed evidence showing that even Mr Sa-Sa from NUG terrorist group had attended the online courses. What they actually did was that they spread propaganda and made incitement to carry out acts of terrorism across the country by organizing and putting in front the low-educated persons, political extremists of NLD party supporters, and destructionists. That is the reason behind the rising number of motiveless killings of innocent civil servants and civilians after accusing them of ‘dalan’ (informers to authorities). To sum up, the actual perpetrators of the terrorist attacks occurring in Myanmar are the murderers of self-named media from the virtual world.
As another obvious instance, when the Government reopened schools, colleges and universities for the education of the youths, and the future of the Nation, the media made various forms of propaganda and threats inciting children and youths not to go to schools, colleges and universities. On the ground, they are simultaneous, committing the inhumane crimes of blowing up and setting fire to schools. In spite of that, their attempts at propaganda did not succeed in full per cent due to the genuine benevolence of the Government and people of parents who understand and care well about the education of children, and the future of the country and it is delightful to see most of the children are back to schools.
Making news toxic and spreading propaganda is not only in the political arena and education sector, such despicable acts can also be found in military issues. Recently, the KNDO and PDFs using cash assistance from external elements and young PDF members launched offensive attacks against the Ukrihta outpost of the Tatmadaw. However, they did not succeed in capturing the outpost and their attempt ended only in humiliating failure with heavy casualties. But they claimed that they had already captured the Ukrihta outpost when they started to launch attacks. Moreover, they also used a pile of dead bodies of PDFs and KNDO as if the Tatmadaw faced heavy deaths. In fact, the internal armed conflicts bring only losses to Myanmar and all national people and therefore, the SAC government has consistently emphasized the invitations to peace talks. The SAC chairman has marked 2022 as the year of peace and it clearly shows the determination of the SAC government in the course of the peace process.
Yellow-coloured circle (1) pointing at ‘Disinformation’ covers news reports that are fabricated using photos and video footage that did not actually happen on the ground in reality. In fact, the news descriptions are the ones posted on online media attempting to conceal the murder crimes of PDF terrorists by depicting them as if the Tatmadaw committed crimes. To explain more about the fake news described in a green-coloured circle (2), such news is exaggerated based on the incidents that actually occurred in reality. Such fake news reports are usually featured false information and ideologies to make the readers confused.
According to the analytical data of the ‘Fact Check’, it is found that PDF terrorist groups upholding the dogma of ‘everyone who differs from my attitude are my enemy’ are wantonly killing the innocent civilians who do not support them as per the instructions of NUG. In the news about the killings of innocent civilians, the victims were found accused of dalan (informers to authorities).
If we observe the incidents, the subversive media outlets are instigating the brutal killings of PDF terrorists to provoke a state of terror in the general public when peaceful people are simply struggling for their lives. PDF terrorists kill everyone, who does not support them, regardless of considering who they are, including children, elders, monks and nuns after accusing them of ‘dalan’. In some towns in remote areas, they even cruelly burn down civilian houses. However, the atrocities and cruelties of the PDFs are always concealed by the money-hunter of murderers under the name of media from the virtual world.
Therefore, the so-called news agencies under the name of media describing disinformation and fake news repeatedly by minding only how to get money are rather deserved to be called subversive media or the media without ethics indoctrinating people with wrong ideologies. In reality, they are not even worth using the term ‘media’ for it will negatively impact the typical media outlets. Their primary intention is to make people believe the disinformation and fake news so as to disintegrate the unity among people; cause dissension between people and the Tatmadaw, and provoke misleading impressions of the Tatmadaw. For the reason mentioned above, let me draw a conclusion of the article by urging the people not to believe the fake news of the subversive media but only to rationally consider the news and information on social media.
