In 2017, Myanmar’s military led a protracted propaganda campaign that resulted in mass murder. Over 25,000 of the country’s Rohingya people were raped or killed, while over 700,000 more were forced to flee. Though divisions between Myanmar’s Buddhist majority and Muslim Rohingya minority have existed for over half a century, social media platforms — notably Facebook — amplified the disinformation and propaganda efforts that ended in horrific violence and a refugee crisis. Focusing exclusively on Facebook’s role in the crisis, however, misses the point. The truth is more complicated — social media’s unprecedented ability to spread disinformation succeeds in part … Continue reading The Complicated Truth of Countering Disinformation