Can Pandora’s Box Be Closed? Information Access in Post-coup Myanmar

• In Event: The Power of Information and Disinformation in a Comparative Context

Abstract

In 2012 the Myanmar government abolished its censorship board and effectively opening a Pandora’s Box of media freedom in the previously cloistered information environment and raising hopes that the country was poised to become a democracy. In 2021, these hopes were dashed when the military staged a coup. In the months that followed, the military limited internet access but they could not entirely shut it down. People in Myanmar initially used Facebook to share information about the military’s repression and mobilize protests. When the military blocked access to Facebook, people used VPNs to access and share information. The military outlawed the use of VPNs, but were they really able to close Pandora’s Box? And how do people who have been primed to distrust media because of government interference discern trustworthy sources from misinformation? To answer these questions, we analyze interviews with people from Myanmar before and after the coup d’état to assess how they access and identify trustworthy sources in this changing mediascape.

Authors

• Jenifer Whitten-Woodring, University of Massachusetts, Lowell

• Catherine Abou-Khalil, Boston University