How social media became Myanmar’s hate speech megaphone

Behind the selfies and the stickers, social media platforms like Facebook have become fertile new ground for hate speech – with an audience growing by the day.

Dissemination of hate speech, or what human rights group Article 19 succinctly calls “the advocacy of hatred based on nationality, race or religion”, has a long history in this country.

And although the medium may have shifted through the decades, much of the sentiment has remained the same.

One popular song from 1930s Burma included clunky yet vicious lyrics that accused Indians and Muslims of “exploiting our economic resources and seizing our women [putting us] in danger of racial extinction”. (Courtesy of mmtimes.com)