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Myanmar Internet Project

(Social) Media in Crisis

Updated: 3 days ago

How Social Media Platforms Are Failing to Support Quality Information Amidst Violent Conflict (Policy Brief)

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Access to reliable information sources is critical in times of crisis and violent conflict, as populations scramble to make sense of the events around them and are faced with increasing needs to make potentially life altering decisions.

As independent media get cracked down on and face increasing difficulties to cover and report the news, social media platforms.

As the Myanmar experience since the 2021 military coup has shown, however, social media platforms tend to step back rather to step up their support to independent media sources amidst crisis, while also playing a key role in fueling clickbait and disinformation.

Our website has been blocked; Our TV station banned. We’re relying on Facebook and YouTube to continue reporting, but under the current conditions, there is no way we can generate the revenues we need to sustain our operation.

This policy brief provides an overview of the main challenges and issues Myanmar independent media are reporting facing with Facebook and YouTube amidst the ongoing crisis.


Key Challenges

  • Limited - and unpredictable - access to social media monetization programs.

  • Widespread violations of copyrights, fueling clickbait & disinformation.

  • Restrictions on content distribution and access to key social media services and features.


Recommendations to Social Media Companies

  • Offer official monetization support to independent media.

  • Tighten “know your business partners” practices.

  • Provide avenues for advertisers to elect to channel ads to independent media.

  • Improve copyrights management tools and practices.

  • Review content policies to account for legitimate reporting needs in conflict settings.


The Context

The Myanmar media sector was hit particularly hard by the 1 February 2021 military coup, which

was followed by a targeted crackdown on independent media - marked by the revoking of media licenses, designations of various media outlets as ‘terrorists’, legal restrictions on media

activities, censoring of websites, TV and radio stations, raids on offices, seizing of assets, freezing of bank accounts, and arrests and prosecution of journalists and media workers.

Many independent media were forced to close. Those that survived faced significant threats to their business model, as they were forced to close print editions and lost their ability to generate traditional sales and advertising revenues. Some also had to (re)start from scratch, under new branding and without established audiences.

Covering the news, meanwhile, became increasingly challenging and costly, as movement

became restricted, access to sources more strenuous, and the need to invest in the securing

and relocation of staff and newsrooms, an increasing necessity.

With press freedom increasingly under threat, Myanmar independent media have grown

increasingly reliant on social media platforms, both as a way to bypass military restrictions and

develop alternative ways to distribute content and generate revenue and as a means to source and verify information.

Demand for independent media content on social media platforms, meanwhile, increased

significantly. According to CrowdTangle, a public insights tool owned and operated by Facebook, national, ethnic and regional media outlets experienced unprecedented growth in both audiences (“followers”) and engagement (“interactions”) since the coup. This is in spite of

recurring attempts by the military junta to restrict access to social media platforms through official bans and targeted internet shutdowns.

The military is trying to control the information space. They are using the state media and working with partisan outlets to push out propaganda. They’ve tried to ban Facebook and YouTube, to prevent people from accessing independent sources, but people are finding ways to evade their bans.

Extracts from CrowdTangle highlighting sharp increases in followers and interactions in the months following the 1 February 2021 military coup


Key Trends

  • Crackdown on independent media

  • Dismantling of existing business models funding the media industry

  • Increased cost of covering the news

  • Dependence on social media for information, news distribution and revenue

  • Significant demand for quality media content


The Problems

Though social media platforms have the potential to support continued access to information, at a time when the country needs it most, they have failed to step up to the task and have fueled further deteriorations of the information ecosystem.

Disinformation, which was already a serious issue on social media in Myanmar, rose to new levels since the February 2021 military coup - driven in large parts by a sharp increase in the number of actors seeking to monetize Myanmar’s Facebook and YouTube audiences.

Myanmar users are very engaged on social media, and now all on VPNs. This makes the Myanmar market uniquely profitable and is attracting not just local, but also from foreign actors, who seem to be crisis hopping in search of revenues.

Unlike independent media, who are bound to media ethics and driven by a mandate to provide accurate information, clickbait actors’ primary motivation is to maximize profit. Rather than to invest in producing quality content, these actors rely extensively on stolen material, often remixed in misleading and sensationalized ways, and focus their time and efforts on gaming the platforms’ recommendation algorithms to optimize views, engagement and financial profit.

Instead of standing by independent media (and legitimate content creators), by facilitating their access to monetization and tightening their “know your business partners” practices, Facebook and YouTube chose to add (or in the case of YouTube keep) Myanmar to their list of unsupported countries for monetization, in an apparent attempt to minimize their liability.

In practice, however, both platforms have continued to sell ads targeting Myanmar audiences and to transfer money to actors monetizing these audiences.

While restrictions on official monetization opportunities have failed to mitigate the problem of financially-motivated disinformation, they have created major hurdles for independent media, and contributed to financial uncertainty in ways that have made it near impossible for independent media to rely on these revenues to sustain, let alone expand, their activity.

We never know what we are going to be able to monetize on social media or how much we might be able to make. Half of the time, our content or traffic gets marked as non monetizable, but it’s not always clear why. There is no consistency, or predictability.

The Business of Independent Media in Post-Coup Myanmar, a report published in November 2022 by Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF), found that the earnings from social media platforms by the 32 independent media MDIF interviewed accounted for an average of less than 1% of their operating costs - a risible amount given the audiences many of these media outlets have built on these platforms over the years and the rising demand for their content. At best, one of MDIF interviewees reported covering 10% of their operation costs through social media revenues.

Not only have independent media been unable to access a viable - and predictable - source of revenue from social media platforms, but various independent media have reported being increasingly hampered in their ability to distribute their content on social media platforms since the crisis. Most notably, media are reporting facing issues such as access and feature restrictions, asset and content-level demotions, and content removals. In many cases, these issues appeared to be triggered through ill-informed or ill-applied content policies as well as undue enforcement of copyrights.

Copyrights enforcement, in particular, has become a key challenge amidst the crisis, as independent media have been forced to rely increasingly on the same raw photos and footage, sourced from user generated content, citizen journalists, civil society and political actors and local outlets. If any of these actors was to claim the copyrights over these raw materials, this would prevent all other actors relying on it from monetizing their content and could potentially fuel broader monetization restrictions.


Key Issues

  • Fast growing disinformation economy fueled by platforms’ monetization programs

  • Lack of sufficient and stable monetization opportunities for independent media

  • Undue restrictions on distribution of independent media content

  • Copyrights challenges


Platform Specific Issues

This policy brief provides an overview of the most significant challenges Myanmar independent media have reported facing on Facebook (owned by Meta) and YouTube (owned by Google) - the two platforms at the center of the independent media’s strategy to sustain their report and continue to reach the public amidst the crisis. Media have also reported facing similar challenges with other tech companies, including Amazon and Telegram, though with more limited impact.


Facebook

Copyrights

Myanmar independent media are reporting facing a number of challenges associated with

copyrights and copyrights management on Facebook amidst the crisis:


Widespread abuse of copyrighted material and trademarks - including by Facebook business partners

Several media outlets reported seeing their content and brand abused by financially actors on a widespread basis. In most of the cases, the media content was remixed and associated with catchy or misleading headlines, fueling disinformation.

Media also reported seeing their content and/or brand repurposed as is, in what appeared to be attempts to impersonate them for audience building as well as monetization purposes. In the below example, one of Myanmar’s largest national media, Mizzima, was impersonated by a page managed out of Cambodia and Saudi Arabia. The Burmese Daily page, which launched in March 2022, and became active in August, started off with the Mizzima logo and a stream of Mizzima news content. In its first month of activity, it generated an average of 4.7 times more views per video than Mizzima, despite Mizzima benefitting from an established audience of 20+ millions Facebook followers. Burmese Daily remains a Facebook monetization partner as of October 2022.


Facebook rights manager not adapted for crisis contexts

Though Facebook provides a tool for content creators to assert their copyrights, this tool is ill suited for crisis contexts. Not only does the system require significant time investments from outlets, which are already very stretched, but consulted media also expressed concerns that by registering their content, they would be imposing negative downstream impacts on all of the other media outlets relying on the same raw footage. As a result, many are reporting that they have elected not to make use of the tool.


Undue claims of copyrights by third parties

Consulted media also reported numerous undue claims of copyrights by third parties. This not only happened with content sourced from social media users and citizen journalists, but also with content which they had formally purchased the rights to, including news footage purchased from other media outlets or via wire services. In some instances, media also reported facing copyrights claims on footage they themselves produced, either because a media had used the rights manager tool over the content, or because a third party took advantage of the fact that the media behind the footage did not itself claim the copyrights. Many smaller outlets also reported having no access to the rights manager tool.


Undue claims of copyrights on music marked by YouTube as royalty free

Independent media also reported being regularly affected by copyrights claims associated with the use of background music. Notably, they reported facing such challenges even when they had sourced the music from the YouTube audio library, which they rely on as a reference for royalty free audio content.


Monetization

Myanmar independent media are also reporting experiencing serious challenges with monetizing their content on Facebook - resulting in both unstable and insufficient revenues:


Myanmar (country) and Burmese (language) no longer officially supported for monetization

Starting in 2021, Facebook removed Myanmar and Burmese from its list of supported countries and languages for monetization. Facebook had previously been offering Myanmar media and creators the opportunity to access its Instant Article program (from 2016) and its In-stream Ads program (from 2018). Though both programs are no longer officially available, Facebook’s list of publishers, which is designed to support Facebook’s ads customers with brand safety considerations, continues to include a large number of Myanmar publishers, as well as large numbers of pages publishing in Burmese language. Beyond the country and language eligibility requirements, many of these publishing business partners fail to meet Facebook’s other eligibility requirements.

Several are also among the publishers and pages known to be repeatedly violating Myanmar independent media’s copyrights, raising serious questions about Facebook’s application of “know your business partners” practices.

Obligation to lie to access monetization

As a result of the lack of official support for monetization, independent media are reporting having to go through a range of hoops in order to be able to monetize their content on Facebook. In order to pass the registration stage, media are reporting having to lie on their location and having to remove page admins physically located in Myanmar, or request them to ‘hide their location’. This is a major burden for media outlets, and can be a serious sticking point when none of the page admins are located outside of the country. Some media also reported having their access to Facebook monetization programs deactivated on an on and off basis, as a result of having admins physically located within Myanmar.

Beyond having to lie on their location, independent media reported having to repetitively lie on the language of the videos they publish to be able to monetize these videos. This language hack is further subject to the media admins being able to access the Facebook creator studio tool, which they reported to not always be working as intended. On the whole, independent media reported having serious ethical concerns with needing to lie in order to monetize, and some confessed to electing to renounce Facebook revenues as a result.


Unexplained content-level monetization restrictions

Consulted media also reported that even when they were successfully able to register for Facebook monetization programs, a significant percentage of their content gets marked as unqualified for monetization. Facebook does not provide any detailed explanation for the reason behind these rejections - leaving the media to guess what may have triggered the restriction, and preventing them from being able to learn and adjust their content accordingly. In a number of cases, the restrictions appear to have been linked to the proactive identification, by Facebook systems, of the use of Burmese language, though such restrictions were applied very inconsistently. There are also concerns that restrictions may be assigned to footage that includes shots from state or military media, which Facebook formally banned under what has come to be known as its Tatmadaw Ban policy. More transparency, and thinking around the use of such triggers is critical, as there are very legitimate reasons for media actors to refer to the military junta’s reporting, which shouldn’t cause them to lose revenue.


Loss of revenue to third parties unduly claiming revenue

Consulted media also reported a number of instances where their Facebook revenue was unduly claimed by third parties. These included cases where third parties unfairly claimed copyrights over the media’s own content, cases where the media used music which should have been royalty free, as well as loss of revenue over content which they had bought the legal rights to, including news wire and purchased footage, as outlined in the copyrights section above.


Unpredictable and limited revenue

On the whole, the media reported that Facebook’s lack of official support for Myanmar and Burmese, as well as undue content level restrictions and claims by third parties, were hampering their ability to generate any significant revenue from Facebook and preventing them from making accurate predictions regarding their revenue generation potential. This was as true for large national media outlets as it was for smaller or newly established outlets - with most reporting revenues, when they were able to get any, in the 30-1000 USD / month range. This is in stark contrast to some of the revenues we’ve observed clickbait actors distributing stolen and disinformation content achieve - which regularly exceed 10,000 USD / month for a given page.


Challenges to control bank accounts to cash in

Consulted media further reported facing challenges cashing in on their Facebook monetization, after their bank accounts were seized by the military junta. Because they were not able to independently edit the bank details associated with their business account, they were not able to redirect their funds to newly established accounts, and often faced situations where months-worth of revenues were transferred to bank accounts over which they no longer had control and can not realistically expect to regain control over.


Distribution

Beyond issues with copyrights and monetization, Myanmar independent media are reporting

facing ongoing restrictions on their content and distribution :


Widespread removals of content under graphic violence and personally identifiable information policies

Facebook has content policies around graphic violence and the use of personally identifiable information, which it proactively enforces in Myanmar. Though these policies are an important safeguard, at a time when graphic violence and doxxing are a serious issue of concern in the country, these policies are applied indiscriminately, regardless of whom the content came from, its purpose, or framing. In the current context, where violence is the news, independent media are reporting feeling unduly restrained from fulfilling their role as a reliable source of news and documentor of human rights abuses. This raises important questions over whether these policies may need to be nuanced so as to account for the needs of legitimate media reporting.


Demotions and restrictions fueled by undue strikes

Consulted media also reported being affected by various restrictions as a result of the strikes they receive for content policy violations. As they accumulate strikes, their page may get flagged for restrictions on recommendation, for example, which can have a substantial impact on the distribution of their content. Media also reported being occasionally restricted from accessing certain features, such as the use of live video, as well as having some of their admins face account restrictions on their personal accounts, preventing them from doing their work. Some media also reported facing challenges to

sign up for monetization as a result of content related strikes.


Ongoing demotion of content classified as civic and political

In July 2022, Facebook announced that it would start reducing the ranking of political content on newsfeed globally. This is a key concern for Myanmar independent media, for whom Facebook distribution remains by far the main way to reach the public and generate traffic to their website. This is particularly critical as many of the media websites are blocked within Myanmar, making it impossible for users to access their content without the use of a VPN - something Facebook users have grown accustomed to as using Facebook, which remained banned within Myanmar, requires VPN use.


Lack of transparency around ranking and recommendation algorithms

Overall, independent media are reporting being very unclear with how Facebook recommendation systems work and the implications these systems, and the way Facebook determines rankings and enforces demotions, have on their distribution, Several of the media consulted reported hearing from their readers that their content is no longer showing on their newsfeed as it once was. This is particularly concerning as known disinformation actors are, for their part, reporting receiving much of their views from Facebook’s recommendation system, as opposed to their own audience or shares of their content.

Screenshot shared by a Cambodian actor known to be distributing disinformation content in Myanmar. The videos posted on the page in question, which are believed to have been targeted at Myanmar audiences, generated 94.7m minute views over a 19 day period, with >90% of these views coming from Facebook recommendations,


YouTube

Copyrights

Myanmar independent media are also reporting facing a number of challenges associated with copyrights and copyrights management on YouTube amidst the crisis:


Mass downloading of copyrighted materials for illegal redistribution and problematic remixing

Our analysis of independent media’s copyrights violations revealed that most - if not all - of the videos being used in violation of independent media’s copyrights are downloaded, at scale and often via automation, off of YouTube. This is a key concern as these videos are then used as the raw material upon which much of the disinformation that gets circulated across the Myanmar internet is produced. This raises important questions over how YouTube is monitoring for such trends and whether the company has identified and enacted any mitigation measures to address this issue.


YouTube copyrights management tools not adapted for crisis contexts

Consulted media also reported that, while YouTube offers various copyrights management tools, these tools are, as with Facebook, not adapted to the current crisis context, where repurposing of footage across several media outlets is a contextual necessity. As a result, many are opting not to use these tools. This is problematic as it can lead to revenue loss for the media outlets, and play an important part in creating the enabling environment that fuels the Burmese language disinformation economy.


Monetization

Much as with Facebook, Myanmar independent media are also reporting experiencing challenges with monetizing their content on YouTube - with negative impacts on their ability to generate revenues:


Myanmar (country) not officially supported for monetization

In contrast to Facebook, YouTube never listed Myanmar as an eligible country for its YouTube Partner Program. Despite these restrictions, YouTube counts a number of monetizing channels producing content in Burmese targeted at Myanmar audiences. The company is also actively advertising its ability to distribute ads to Myanmar audiences to its advertising clients, and actively showcasing ads on Burmese language content, - suggesting that the company is happy to work with these channels, so long as it does not create any liability or needs for investments on its part.


Obligation to lie to access monetization

In the absence of an official route to register for the YouTube Partner Program, independent media are reporting having to lie in their registration form and claim to be based in one of the supported countries. They are also reporting having to use agents, or partners in supported countries, to access the necessary credentials to start monetizing their content on YouTube - and more broadly via Google adsense. Much as with Facebook, this presents an ethical dilemma for independent media, who are committed to doing business legally. This roundabout way to sign up has also given rise to a parallel economy of YouTube monetization agents, which are being widely used by clickbait actors across Myanmar.


Registration blocks due to lack of content originality

Several of the Myanmar media who sought to gain access to the YouTube Partner Program reported being rejected on the basis of a lack of originality in their content. While YouTube has a very real problem with channels distributing stolen content for profit, the approach the company is using to detect repurposed footage appears to disproportionately affect media actors, who tend to repurpose footage without alterations. This is in contrast to clickbait actors, who are evading such enforcement by adding overlay logos and captions - a tactic which can reduce the quality of the footage and otherwise requires skills and resources, which independent media tend to lack.


Content-level monetization restrictions due to content being “unsuitable for most advertisers”

Consulted media who were able to gain access to the YouTube Partner Program are also reporting facing large volumes of content-level monetization restrictions linked to their content being classified as “unsuitable for most advertisers’. These restrictions are usually applied to content displaying graphic violence, suggesting that they are triggered through automation. Though it is a valid assumption that advertisers are likely to be adverse to displaying their ads alongside violence, many advertisers have declared explicit commitment in supporting independent media, which would likely supersede these concerns in conflict situations.


Inability to monetize traffic coming from Myanmar

The main way through which YouTube appears to be enforcing its Myanmar restrictions is

through automatically disqualifying traffic coming from Myanmar from being monetized.

Consulted media are reporting that this is having a substantial impact on their ability to

generate revenue on YouTube, as only a fraction of the views their content generates can

be monetized. As YouTube displays ads to viewers regardless, media are also questioning the fact that YouTube is pocketing a much larger share of the revenue generated around their content than they normally would with YouTube partners generating views from otherwise eligible countries.


Loss of revenue to third parties

Much as with Facebook, Myanmar independent media also reported having their YouTube monetization revenue occasionally claimed by third parties. This appears to often be the result of the use of copyrighted music or international news footage. The latter raises questions over whether more could be done, by YouTube and others in the media industry, to support small independent outlets to access royalty free news footage that can support their global news reporting.


Unpredictable and limited revenues

Though consulted media with access to the YouTube Partner Program are reporting being able to generate higher revenues from YouTube than Facebook, with revenues ranging from 100-3000 USD / month for registered media, these revenues still represent a fraction of the revenue that the Myanmar media could generate if they were able to monetize their Myanmar traffic and weren’t faced with recurring restrictions linked to the gruesome nature of the news content they are forced to report on. With the Burmese language YouTube quickly building up to be a hotbed of disinformation, it’s critical that YouTube provide more incentives for independent media actors to contribute credible news and information tailored to the Myanmar market.


Distribution

While consulted media do not appear to face as many distribution challenges on YouTube as they do on Facebook, this is more likely a reflection of YouTube’s lax approach to content moderation for Burmese than a sign of YouTube giving more consideration to Myanmar’s independent media.


Limited understanding of the Myanmar information ecosystem

Unlike Facebook, which has made efforts to engage directly with Myanmar stakeholders over the last few years, building a more nuanced understanding of the Myanmar information ecosystem, consulted media reported that they have not had any interactions with YouTube teams. It’s also not clear that YouTube has a good grasp of the Myanmar actors present on its platform - not least because a significant number of these actors are registered as channels under a third country, so as to be able to access the platform’s monetization features.


Lack of transparency around ranking and recommendation algorithms

Much as with Facebook, consulted media reported lacking an adequate understanding of the ways YouTube ranks and recommends content on its platform. The fact that credible Myanmar media lack basic knowledge of best practices to maximize recommendations is of concern - as they are widely outplayed in recommendations by clickbait and disinformation actors, who have invested substantially more in understanding how to work the platforms’ algorithms.


Recommendations

Supporting quality information in times of crisis and conflict is of paramount importance. Doing so requires both ensuring the survival of independent media actors and legitimate content producers, and mitigating the spread and production of disinformation. The Myanmar experience carries some important learnings for key actors:


Social Media Companies should:

  1. Step up their support and engagement with independent media

  2. Conduct research on impact on independent media in authoritarian & conflict contexts

  3. Provide - rather than retract - official monetization support during crises

  4. Tighten “know your business partners” practices

  5. Support advertisers looking to channel ads to independent media

  6. Review copyrights management practices

  7. Review content policies to account for legitimate reporting needs in conflict settings


Independent Media should:

  1. Invest in training staff on social media policies and best practices

  2. Diversify revenue streams to avoid over reliance on any one source


Media Support Organization should:

  1. Facilitate the development of social media guidelines and monetization best practices

  2. Facilitate the vouching of credible and legitimate independent media outlets

  3. Facilitate the development of clear protocols for conflict and war reporting


Information Quality Researchers & Advocates should:

  1. Research how to mitigate financially motivated disinformation without harming legitimate content producers


International Community should:

  1. Regulate social media monetization programs - and ensure that they follow adequate ‘know your business partners’ practices and don’t fuel or fund disinformation


OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGES

Facebook

YouTube

Copyrights

  1. Widespread abuse of copyrighted material and trademarks - including by Facebook “business partners”

  2. Facebook rights manager not adapted for crisis contexts

  3. Undue claims of copyrights by third parties

  4. Undue claims of copyrights on music

marked by YouTube as royalty free

Copyrights

  1. Mass downloading of copyrighted

    materials for illegal redistribution and

    problematic remixing

  2. YouTube copyrights management tools not adapted for crisis contexts

Monetization

  1. Myanmar (country) and Burmese

    (language) no longer officially supported

    for monetization

  2. Obligation to lie to access monetization

  3. Unexplained content-level monetization

    restrictions

  4. Loss of revenue to third parties unduly

    claiming revenue

  5. Unpredictable and limited revenue

  6. Challenges to control bank accounts to

    cash in

Monetization

  1. Myanmar (country) not officially supported for monetization

  2. Obligation to lie to access monetization

  3. Registration blocks due to lack of content originality

  4. Content-level monetization restrictions due to content being “unsuitable for most advertisers”

  5. Inability to monetize traffic coming from

    Myanmar

  6. Loss of revenue to third parties

  7. Unpredictable and limited revenues

Distribution

  1. Widespread removals of content under

    graphic violence and personally identifiable information policies

  2. Demotions and restrictions fueled by

    undue strikes

  3. Ongoing demotion of content classified as civic and political

  4. Lack of transparency around content

    ranking and recommendation algorithms

Distribution

  1. Limited understanding of the Myanmar

    information ecosystem

  2. Lack of transparency around

    recommendation algorithm and its impact on the independent media

This policy brief builds on consultations with experts from across the Myanmar media industry - including executives from national, ethnic and regional media outlets and media support organizations, held by the Myanmar Internet Project (MIP) and Free Expression Myanmar (FEM), as well as both organizations’ own research into the Myanmar information ecosystem and their ongoing experience supporting Myanmar independent media with engaging social media companies.

Recommended Citation Style:

 

(Social) Media in Crisis (2024, October 2).https://www.myanmarinternet.info/post/social-media-in-crisis

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