Cashing in on Chaos: How Platform Money Fuels Hate & Propaganda in Myanmar

Cashing_in_on_Chaos.pdf

Download PDF • 1.89MB

When dangerous speech become currency, the platform is no longer neutral. It's part of the profit machine fueling oppression.

In a country still grappling with the chaos and trauma caused by the 2021 military coup, Myanmar’s digital landscape has turned into a dangerous battleground. One of the most disturbing developments in this space is the rise of pro-military influencers who not only echo military propaganda but are also cashing in on it. Zaw Bhone Hein stands out as a striking example.

Zaw Bhone Hein is a known military-affiliated figure who was previously banned from Facebook for spreading content that incited violence. Since then, he has shifted his presence to YouTube and TikTok, pushing the same divisive and dangerous messages.. Many of his broadcasts include information that directly encourages the military to launch attacks on areas believed to be strongholds of the revolutionary movement. His content not only glorifies military actions but also puts lives at risk by effectively pointing the finger at resistance forces and their locations.

Figure 1: Example of a YouTube livestream by nationalist Zaw Bhone Hein, which has garnered 180,000 views.

In a recent YouTube live stream on March 19, 2025, approximately one hour and fifty minutes in, he casually boasted about earning 10 million kyat (equivalent to $2000 USD) per month from YouTube. That figure alone is staggering but even more alarming is how he earns it by streaming military aligned news, parroting propaganda, and sharing content that often borders on incitement. It’s not just what he says, it's how the system rewards it. YouTube’s algorithm pushes this content to the top, and its monetization tools help turn it into profit. This raises a crucial question.. When hate and lies become currency, does the platform profit from destruction while claiming neutrality?

YouTube: A New Revenue Stream for Propaganda

In normal circumstances, YouTube’s monetization model is designed to reward content creators for originality, engagement, and viewer retention. But in Myanmar, it has inadvertently become a tool for political propaganda. The platform's lack of effective moderation in non-Western languages and contexts has allowed users like Zaw Bhone Hein to manipulate the system. By positioning himself as a voice of “truth” aligned with military interests, he taps into a base of loyal viewers who are either sympathetic to or fearful of dissenting from the military's narrative. 

In the same livestream mentioned above on March 19, 2025,  Zaw Bhone Hein mockingly addressed the backlash “I’m just sitting here, live streaming, watching the comments of people telling me to stop or cursing me out,” he reportedly said.. “But you know what? I get money from it.” His message was clear: the hate fuels engagement, and engagement means profit.

His live streams are often filled with comments that praise the military and insult those who oppose it. Viewers send Super Chats, some might pay for memberships, and watch ads all of which bring in money. This steady flow of income keeps the dangerous content going, turning hate and propaganda into profit.

Furthermore, Aung Moe Kyaw, who is from Myanmar Gone Journal and a military propagandist, on this telegram channel, celebrated that  his YouTube subscribers reached ninety thousand on 3 March 2025, and he will try to reach one million subscribers. Also, on 6 January 2025, he requested the audience to subscribe to his YouTube channel. He then said that if he reaches one million subscribers, he will receive a YouTube verification badge.

Figure 2: Aung Moe Kyaw, a military propagandist, shared on Telegram encouraging users to subscribe to his YouTube channel. He is close to reaching 100,000 subscribers. Once he reaches that milestone, he will receive a YouTube Creator Award.

Figure 3: Ko Thet, a military lobbyist, also announced on his Telegram channel that people could subscribe to Aung Moe Kyaw's YouTube channel.

The Ethics of Monetizing Hate: How YouTube Profits Fuel Myanmar’s Propaganda Machine.

While it's easy to dismiss nationalist content as just more online noise, the real-world consequences are both profound and dangerous. The monetization of pro-military narratives doesn’t just enrich individuals like Zaw Bhone Hein and Aung Moe Kyaw; it legitimizes and sustains a wider ecosystem of hate, misinformation, and violence. It desensitizes audiences to brutality, undermines democratic norms, and silences dissenting voices.

By financially incentivizing these creators, platforms like YouTube become indirectly complicit. According to YouTube, content is reviewed by a combination of automated systems and human moderators to ensure compliance with its policies. The YouTube Partner Program (YPP) grants monetization access to creators who reach at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within a year. While these requirements measure popularity and engagement, they fail to account for ethical implications or the potential real-world harm. YouTube may argue that it does not endorse user content, but money sends a powerful message. When pro-military propaganda becomes profitable, it transforms into content worth producing regardless of its social cost.

And this isn’t just rhetorical support. In a livestream on April 15, 2025, around 40 minutes in, Zaw Bhone Hein didn’t just defend the military  he claimed to have directly shared information that led to arrests of opposition members. This reveals a dangerous dynamic: the money earned from YouTube not only empowers the message, it supports violent action on the ground.

Meanwhile, Kyaw Myo Min, a propagandist from the military-affiliated outlet NP News, admitted that others routinely copy his content and upload it to multiple channels simply to monetize it, knowing how profitable such videos can be. This turns propaganda into a circular economy of hate, where propaganda is endlessly copied, monetized and amplified, perpetuating a cycle of harm.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Addressing the way platform monetization fuels hate and propaganda requires that the global community, civil society groups (including INGOs and CSOs), regulatory bodies, tech platforms and advertisers not only become aware of how monetization fuels propaganda and hate, but also take immediate actions and firm actions to counteract it.,

1. Implement Smarter, Localized Content Moderation: YouTube and similar platforms need to invest in localized content moderation that can understand and respond to the cultural and political nuances of Myanmar.

   
   

2. Cut off Money for Harmful Content: The financial incentives for  content that incites violence, spreads hate speech or pushes dangerous misinformation have to stop. This means tougher, faster enforcement of community guidelines against those who break the rules, especially repeated offenders and channels that just re-upload banned content.

   
   

3. Increase Transparency on monetization policies: Platforms need to be much more transparent about how they decide what content gets promoted and monetized , especially in politically charged and conflict-ridden places like Myanmar.

   
   

4. Advertisers: Commit to Ethical Ad Placement and Brand Safety: Advertisers must take greater responsibility for where their ads appear, ensuring their investments do not inadvertently fund or legitimize channels and contents promoting hate, violence or disinformation. This includes demanding more transparency from platforms regarding the ad placement, utilizing robust brand safety tools, and developing clear ethical guidelines for their ad spending in high-risks environments.

Recommended Citation Style - Myanmar Internet Project (2025, June 10), Cashing in on Chaos: How Platform Money Fuels Hate & Propaganda in Myanmar, https://www.myanmarinternet.info/post/cashing_in_on_chaos