Just hours after UN officials called for Myanmar army leaders to be tried for genocide, Facebook blocked the accounts of army chief Min Aung Hlaing and other top brass. The online network wields immense power in Myanmar.
In order to “prevent the spread of hate and misinformation,” social media giant Facebook blocked the commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s armed forces, Min Aung Hlaing, from using its platform. Dozens of other Facebook accounts and pages, including those belonging to other military officials and the military’s Myawady television network, were also been removed on Monday.
The unprecedented move comes as Myanmar’s military faces growing pressure over its crackdown on the Muslim Rohingya.
“International experts … have found evidence that many of these individuals and organizations committed or enabled serious human rights abuses in the country,” Facebook said in an online post. “And we want to prevent them from using our service to further inflame ethnic and religious tensions.”
Categories: Asia, Ethnic cleansing, Ethnic discrimination, Genocide, Human rights, Indigenous peoples, Minority rights, Myanmar, Religious discrimination, Religious persecution, Top stories, War crimes, World news
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