A Rohingya refugee Image by Getty Images

Facebook has become a means for ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, The New York Times reported.

Myanmar military personnel has been using the social network over the past five years to prey on the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority group, according to former military officials, researchers and civilian officials in Myanmar.

Facebook took down the official accounts of senior Myanmar military leaders in August, according to the Times, but fake accounts run by military personnel are still actively spreading propaganda — posting threatening, critical and hate-filled comments on news and celebrity pages.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Online exploitation — just one piece of the military campaign that began last year — comes easy in Myanmar, where Facebook is used so often that is it confused with the internet as a whole, the Times reported. Human rights groups claim the campaign is responsible for the violence and mass migration plaguing the country.

Facebook has confirmed the existence of the campaign, and on Monday, it took down several accounts that falsely appeared to be about the entertainment industry. They had more than a million followers, according to the Times.

“We discovered that these seemingly independent entertainment, beauty and informational pages were linked to the Myanmar military,” Facebook said in a statement.

The social media giant admitted in August to being “too slow” in addressing hate speech and propaganda in Myanmar, Reuters reported. Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy, said the company is ramping up its efforts.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount