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Fact-checkers in Myanmar lost their sources and Facebook, their main platform
Fact-checkers in Myanmar tried to work this week as they usually do — but they just couldn’t. A few days ago, they tried to assess whether it was true that their country’s military was hoarding COVID-19 vaccines. With more than 140,000 confirmed cases, the nation saw this pandemic-related claim spreading fast on social media and messaging apps, raising alarm.
To assess that information, fact-checkers called sources and searched for data, but none were there. On Feb. 1, a military coup toppled the civilian government in Myanmar and, since then, many functionaries and citizens have been arrested or silenced. Reliable information is in short supply.
On Thursday morning (Wednesday evening in the United States), a decree from the new military government made the situation even worse. Facebook was blocked in Myanmar, cutting off fact-checkers from their main source of distribution and primary channel to communicate with their audience.
“Our audience is mainly from Facebook,” said one fact-checker contacted by the IFCN. “We have our page on other social media like Instagram, Viber and Twitter, but our chatbot, where we receive claim requests, is based on Facebook.”
This fact-checker, who asked to be kept anonymous, is also struggling with keeping staff safe. It’s known in Myanmar that the military has a list of people it sought to arrest. So far, no fact-checkers have been named.
“But I’m not sure. Maybe, when they finish this first list, we’ll be on a second one,” the fact-checker said.
Despite these risks and the lack of source and data, fact-checkers seem determined to keep fighting against mis/disinformation.
“This is our responsibility for our country. Generation by generation, we are taking responsibility for our country.”
The fact-checking movement sprung up in Myanmar in the wake of that country’s 2010 transition to a more representative democratic form of government after 20 years of being ruled exclusively by the military. It’s now facing another tough moment. Fact-checkers are searching for out-of-country partners to help publish their content.
The military announced it had taken over the country’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign and refuted claims they were hoarding vaccines. Fact-checkers, however, couldn’t verify that either. Reliable sources are all gone.
Harrison Mantas
Events and training
- Feb. 8, 9 a.m. Eastern: IFCN Talks #1 – “Is deplatforming a solution for misinformation?”. Come chat on Zoom with Francisco Britto Cruz, director at InternetLab (Brazil) and Lucas Graves, professor and researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison. It’s free!
- Feb. 15 to March 14: “Disinformation and Fact-Checking in Times of COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Offered in Spanish, Portuguese and Guaraní, this free online course is produced by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas with the IFCN and the European Union.
Interesting fact-checks
Screenshot
- BuzzFeed: Yes, This PE Teacher Really Danced Through The Coup In Myanmar
- News reporter Jane Lytvynenko put together an easy-to-read story that shows how a political scientist in Spain, a Bellingcat researcher and a physical education teacher managed to prove that the content seen in this funny video was actually real.
- The Observers (France): Can animals really freeze to death like some videos claim?
- A series of footage from Kazakhstan went viral in early January purporting to show animals that had frozen to death. Fact-checkers took a deep dive and used different tools to assess the veracity of those videos. Have a look.
Quick hits
From the news:
- “I apologize for thinking you ate babies,” from CNN‘s “Inside the QAnon Conspiracy” Special Report. The show aired in the United States on Jan. 30 and discussed the growth of the QAnon movement and its consequences. It shocked us to see how long the list of QAnon symbols is. The number 17, for example is used because Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet.
- “Oversight Board’s first case decisions,” from Facebook’s Oversight Board website. Did you see the board overturned four Facebook’s decisions, upheld one and issued nine policy recommendations to the company? Make sure you understand the cases.
- “The Unfounded Claim that Social Media Companies Censor Conservatives,” from NYU/Stern. Researchers Paul M. Barrett and J. Grant Sims analyzed data and concluded that social media platforms do not censor right-leaning speech (just like any other!).
- “Facebook ‘still making money from anti-vax sites,’” from The Guardian. An investigation has found 430 pages — followed by 45 million people — that use Facebook’s tools, including virtual “shops” and fan subscriptions, while spreading false information about both COVID-19 and vaccinations.
From/for the community:
- Angie Holan, PolitiFact’s editor-in-chief, suggests three ways to stop lies without resorting to “censorship” in the United States. Her op-ed was published by Poynter on Feb. 2.
- Spanish fact-checkers Newtral and Verificat announced on Jan. 28 they will be fact-checking the Catalonian election together. The election takes place Feb. 14. (In Spanish)
- British fact-checker Full Fact released an 80-page report demanding the British government to take urgent action to fix longstanding information failures. The lack of COVID-19 data isn’t a U.K.-only issue. For sure.
- Brazilian fact-checker Aos Fatos won the Gabriel García Marquez Award for innovation on Jan. 21. (In Portuguese)
- Did you know there is a Teen Fact-Checking Network? Oh, yes! And they are coordinated by Poynter Institute’s MediaWise staff, in the U.S. Here is their first YouTube fact-check.
If you are a fact-checker and you’d like your work/projects/achievements highlighted in the next edition, send us an email at factually@poynter.org by next Tuesday.
Any corrections? Tips? We’d love to hear from you: factually@poynter.org.
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