As we mark the end of the year 2023, Fact Crescendo Myanmar took measures to review 2023 social media trends on fact-checking articles. FC Myanmar observed repeated claims in the form of frauds and scams for financial gains, along with click-bait on political claims in the form of mis-captioned videos as the patterns of misinformation.

Exaggerated product advertisements on online loan pages for scams, pretending to be counterfeit money sellers or foreign currency traders, were one of the several activities that fraudsters targeted in 2023. Online frauds were so severe that it eventually led to war in North Shan, blaming the coup military for negligence at a large scale.

In political misinformation, mis-captioned video that coincides with certain political developments in the real world challenge authentic content. Again, thefts, looting, and the brutally killed and setting fires to markets are the disinformation that military propagators used most to discredit against revolutionary forces.

What is the right loan?

Facebook pages with multitudes of repeated claims giving out loans easily to those in need, from tens of thousands MMK to hundreds of thousands MMK, are just scams. Myanmar prohibits loaners without a license from the central bank. So, fraudsters often pretend to be real, authentic banks in their Facebook names. They claim to give a lump sum of money and request providing your household registration cards and your NRC through Facebook Messenger or Viber app. If a Facebook post claims this, it is almost certain that they are scammers.

No financial institution is giving out loans without collateral for businesses in Myanmar, and for personal loans, there is no chance of receiving loans without showing up in person to a branch office and at least having two guarantors. This is a norm in formal lending procedures in Myanmar or what legalised financers are required to do. Fraudsters often use well-known international loan projects initiated by the government, like Emerald Green Loans, which give support loans to village development funds during the transition to democracy, cooperative loans or SME Bank loans.

The page names like AYA Bank boss U Zaw Zaw and well-known goldsmith shops giving out loans online are also certain to be scams. Facebook pages in the name of well-known Gold and jewellery shops claiming to sell a product online are also likely scams.

Another common scam is selling a product online using unrelated photos, claiming a product is real and authentic. These pages even promote their claim using paid Facebook advertisements to reach wider audiences.

Some scams use well-known brands out there to give free gifts. Most of the time, claiming that just sharing a post will receive a gift is likely fake and a scam. Bank users are also targets because they pretend to be bank employees and ask for a passcode for bank services on social media pages. In 2023, bankers have repeatedly warned their customers through social media not to give passwords and OTP to anybody, including bank staff.

Another fraud that could not be verified was the exchange business. Pretending to be a foreign currency trader, fraudsters look for victims at inflated prices.

Mis-captioned videos on Youtube

Politically motivated miscaptioned videos are the most observed pattern of fake content in Myanmar. Often, these mis-captioned videos coincide with trending political phenomena and conflicts in the real world. Fake headlines like meetings between civilian leaders Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and military leaders, military negotiating with her to return power, or her release from prison are frequent.

Purported announcements by foreign countries of giving weapons and ammunition or aircraft to the National Unity Government (NUG) formed by ousted lawmakers and anti-coup ethnic leaders are also just myths. People Defense Forces, the armed wing of NUG, capture the capital Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon, and Mandalay cities, which are also repeatedly faked and used in miscaptioning.

Military leaders fleeing the country, dying in attacks, and being jailed by international actors are also clickbait. While some of these mis-captioned videos were based on viral news, and fabricated and exaggerated in the captions, some even fabricated all the footage, including titles. These videos now have little chance of virality on Facebook, as Meta’s proactive policy is fighting against misinformation and click-baits, and they are mainly observed on YouTube and other social media platforms.

Israel-Gaza misinformation

Israel-Hamas war was a significant theme for misinformation space in Myanmar in 2023. Since the beginning of the war, misinformation on refugee issues and Israeli high-tech military weaponry have been taking point. Parts of the game video using RTX animated video for presentation shooting down aerial objects shared out of context and a crowd of people from a religious festival in India become people fleeing the Israel-Hamas war in Myanmar.

Conclusion

Politically motivated miscaptioned videos to scam and frauds for financial gains momentum in Myanmar even the year 2023 ends. These trends are expected to continue to be seen as major fakes that matter a lot to people in Myanmar. Artificial intelligence and deep fake technologies significantly challenged the international community in 2023. However, these trends were hardly replicated in the misinformation space in Myanmar in 2023.

Zaw HtayLocalization