Reporting on the Myanmar earthquake

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake rocked Myanmar in late March, killing close to 4,000 people. Almost 5,000 additional people were injured in the quake, according to UN figures.

The Southeast Asian nation was already grappling with a civil war following the February 2021 military coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government.

Many journalists were left homeless in Mandalay, the quake’s epicentre. IMS is supporting 20 reporters with financial assistance to cover accommodation and equipment so that reporters can continue their work.

Myanmar independent media scrambled to cover the disaster and recovery efforts. There was a huge uptick in rumours, disinformation and fake, AI-generated videos in the aftermath of the earthquake.

IMS’ long-term partner The Red Flag received funds to increase efforts to debunk incorrect and misleading social media posts and multimedia content.

The Red Flag cooperated with the Myanmar Fact-Checking Network, consisting of 16 media outlets, by providing daily alerts, mentoring and editorial support. The network set up an emergency newsroom to deal with the avalanche of earthquake-related disinformation.

There was a surge in opinion-based and misleading online posts claiming that pro-democracy groups or the military junta were trying to exploit the disaster to gain territorial control. “Other forms of misinformation included fake news linking the earthquake to religious beliefs, health-related falsehoods and unsubstantiated warnings about future earthquakes or tsunamis,” a representative from The Red Flag said. “Sadly, we also saw online money scams attempting to capitalise on the earthquake situation.”

Multiple media organisations within the Myanmar Fact-Checking Network are struggling to retain staff due to US funding cuts.

“The factchecking newsroom is still struggling to produce quality content at a faster speed for the emergency due to the human resource shortage,” a representative from The Red Flag said.

Myanmar independent media also reported on how the junta has slowed the distribution of aid by tying up international organisations with bureaucratic red tape.

Short-wave radio to the rescue

The Myanmar earthquake damaged 6,700 mobile communications base stations, which disrupted internet access and people’s access to life-saving information. Short-wave radio became a lifeline for many in rural Myanmar in the quake’s aftermath with credible factchecked information on safety, hygiene, accessing emergency relief, aid distribution and details about ongoing military airstrikes in some areas.

IMS covered broadcasting costs to help Mizzima News continue its shortwave broadcasts. Its short-wave service was about to close when the earthquake hit due to US funding cuts. The broadcasts are in Burmese as well as other Myanmar ethnic minority languages. Mizzima broadcasts half hour news
programmes twice daily over short-wave radio, reaching more than 110 cities, towns and villages.

The radio news programmes amplified reach over other channels. During March, for example, the programmes reached 138,000 viewers on YouTube, 1.25 million Facebook users and 676,000 Spotify listeners. Mizzima News has been forced to cut staff salaries to cope with a funding shortfall caused by the US cuts and as a result some staff have left the organisation. “We will survive and continue the work,” Mizzima News editor-in-chief Soe Myint said defiantly.