The 2021 coup shattered the media landscape. The junta quickly issued a list of media outlets that were banned for being outspoken, including the Democratic Voice of Burma, a media outlet that came to symbolise the fight for press freedom. Many media outlets forced into exile — mainly in Thailand — have had to return to clandestine reporting techniques developed during the previous decades of military dictatorship to continue gathering reliable information inside the country. They now rely on journalists on the ground who are often new to the profession, in precarious situations, and who put their safety at risk to gather information. The government-controlled media, on the other hand, are propaganda outlets that receive scant attention from the population. 

The military regime does not tolerate alternatives to its narrative, using the institutions it created after the coup as a means to this end. It has reestablished the system of pre-censorship and prevented the media from covering the numerous human rights violations. The head of the junta, Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, openly promotes a policy of terror towards journalists who do not toe the junta’s line. The Ministry of Information regularly issues statements threatening to take action against journalists and media outlets it accuses of promoting “terrorism, fear or instability”. These labels are routinely applied to articles reporting on the ongoing conflict.

As well as often taking completely arbitrary action, the generals almost systematically invoke the very vaguely worded Section 505 (a) of the Penal Code, under which “false information” is punishable by three years in prison. Use is also made of Section 66 (d) of the telecommunications law, another legal archaism that criminalises defamation and can be used to send a journalist to prison if anyone disputes what they have written. In some cases, military courts invoke anti-terrorism laws to impose heavy sentences – including life imprisonment – on journalists they deem most dangerous to the regime. The junta has also criminalised the use of VPNs to prevent the population from accessing banned independent media outlets.

Even before the coup d’état, the privately owned media’s economic model was already fragile. Reporting by sites such as Myanmar Now and Mizzima depended on international subsidies and lacked stable income. The coup’s upheaval has made the situation worse. Pro-government media outlets have taken over the newsstands and airwaves, while the independent media have been reduced to operating underground and, therefore, to even more uncertain modes of financing. Cuts in international funding have made the situation even worse, leading to mass layoffs.

Before the 2021 coup, under the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, the climate surrounding press freedom was already difficult with the persistence of taboo issues, such as the plight of ethnic minorities. The biggest blow was the 2018 arrests of two Reuters journalists who had investigated a massacre of Rohingya civilians. They were subjected to a sham trial and finally pardoned. The case was followed by a surge in disinformation and hate speech on Facebook, whose failure to regulate content had a disastrous impact on public debate in Myanmar. Since the coup, the public has increasingly recognised the importance of journalism. However, those who report on the negative aspects of revolutionary groups or anti-junta resistance forces often face public backlash, including threats and harsh criticism.

With significant risks of being tortured, jailed, or murdered, journalism is an extremely dangerous profession in Myanmar, which has become one of the world’s biggest jailers of journalists, second only to China – and, relative to its population, by far the country that imprisons its journalists the most. The few accounts emerging from Myanmar’s jails reveal extremely harsh conditions and systemic use of torture. In some cases, these abuses lead to the death of journalists, adding to the long list of those killed by the junta. Myanmar journalists are also targeted by ethnic armed organisations and anti-junta resistance forces when reporting from their regions. These groups often pressure journalists not to expose violations or negative actions, resorting to threats to suppress unfavourable coverage.