In brief
The recent earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar, reveals the country's struggle with censorship, limiting real-time information on the disaster's impact.
Myanmar's military government's ongoing internet censorship has obscured information regarding the recent 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck near Mandalay on Friday. While videos and social media posts flooded in from neighboring Thailand, documenting damage, Myanmar's digital isolation made it difficult for information about the quake's devastation to emerge.Since seizing power in a coup in 2021, the ruling junta has systematically restricted internet access to quell dissent and maintain control. As a result, information related to national emergencies is often sparse, with the country heavily reliant on telecommunications infrastructure that was already compromised by the earthquake. Even official government websites faced outages following the tremor.According to Access Now, a digital rights organization, the military has the power to enforce internet shutdowns and create communications blackouts at will. This suppression has rendered many areas, especially those affected by violent conflict with opposing rebel groups, nearly unreachable for accurate reporting or aid coordination. In these regions, residents have turned to satellite services like Starlink to maintain connectivity.The earthquake's epicenter was reported just outside Mandalay, causing significant tremors felt in as far away as Bangkok, Thailand. The subsequent information void on the scale of disaster in Myanmar stands in stark contrast to the active online discussions and updates that characterized previous crises in the country. Joe Freeman, a researcher at Amnesty International, highlighted that while Thailand received extensive media coverage of their earthquake response, Myanmar's coverage remains trapped in a digital blackout.In the past, smartphone users in Myanmar utilized social media platforms to share real-time updates during crises, marking a shift from that landscape post-coup. The present conditions illustrate the detrimental impact of censorship not only on daily communication but also on disaster response and recovery efforts, leaving the true extent of destruction and loss unknown.As the situation evolves, Myanmar's resilience in the face of adversity continues to be tested, compounded by restrictions that, after a major natural disaster, not only protect the junta's interests but also hinder the basic flow of humanitarian aid and survivor support.
