Facebook Bans Myanmar Military Accounts in Aftermath of Coup - The New York Times

The move puts the social network squarely on the side of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement after years of criticism over how the military has used the site.

Facebook said on Wednesday that it had banned Myanmar’s military from its platforms, weeks after the country’s fragile democratic government was overthrown in a military coup.

The move, which also bars military-owned businesses from advertising on Facebook, plunged the social network more directly into Myanmar’s post-coup politics.

Since the coup early this month, which ousted the civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and returned Myanmar to full military rule, the military has repeatedly shut off the internet and cut access to major social media sites.

For years, members of the military were the prime operatives behind a systematic campaign on Facebook that demeaned the Rohingya as foreigners illegally living in Myanmar, even though many had been there for generations.

But some companies in Myanmar have a track record of spending big on the social network.

“Donald Trump was kicked off Facebook for inciting violence and an attempted coup, but the Burmese military are allowed to stay on Facebook despite committing genocide and holding a coup,” wrote Mark Farmaner, director of the advocacy group Burma Campaign UK, in a statement on Feb.

In a statement, it said it was banning “remaining” accounts linked to the military because the coup was “an emergency,” before citing the military’s long history of human rights abuses, violence and social media manipulation.

It added that the risks of letting the Myanmar military remain on Facebook and Instagram were “too great” and that the military would be barred indefinitely.

During Myanmar’s protests, organizers have used Facebook to coordinate marches, to share footage of demonstrations and violent military crackdowns, and to distribute memes mocking the coup leaders.

As of Thursday, at least one page linked to the military remained available on Facebook to distribute official announcements.