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Facebook’s dream of a more open and connected world turned into a nightmare in Myanmar. Ethnic tensions between the Buddhist majority and the Rohingya minority had been simmering for decades when the country started opening up to outside business. The price of a smartphone SIM card dropped from around $200 to $2, and Facebook quickly became the app of choice.
But despite multiple warnings, Facebook failed to control hate speech against Rohingyas, and had very few employees who could read Burmese. The company was criticised in a UN report - so what exactly went so wrong online in Myanmar?
Presenter: Mike Wendling
Photo Caption: Rohingya refugees pictured in August 2017
By BBC World Service4.6
4444 ratings
Facebook’s dream of a more open and connected world turned into a nightmare in Myanmar. Ethnic tensions between the Buddhist majority and the Rohingya minority had been simmering for decades when the country started opening up to outside business. The price of a smartphone SIM card dropped from around $200 to $2, and Facebook quickly became the app of choice.
But despite multiple warnings, Facebook failed to control hate speech against Rohingyas, and had very few employees who could read Burmese. The company was criticised in a UN report - so what exactly went so wrong online in Myanmar?
Presenter: Mike Wendling
Photo Caption: Rohingya refugees pictured in August 2017

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