Since Myanmar's devastating March 28 earthquake, digital profiteers have flooded social media with fake news and misleading videos, capitalizing on the disaster's chaos for massive ad revenues, digital experts warn.
This surge of misinformation has turned disaster reporting into a business – where sensationalism and false narratives attract views, and, ultimately, profit.
The earthquake, which has killed more than 3,600 people and left thousands more injured or missing, has further compounded Myanmar's ongoing struggles following the 2021 military coup that devastated its economy.
Amid the turmoil, misleading content has gone viral.
Fake rescue operations, manipulated images and AI-generated videos have been spread widely, leading to widespread confusion and panic.
"People need to be aware that a lot of the information circulating is false and financially motivated," said Darrell West, senior technology researcher at the Brookings Institution. These false narratives, fueled by viral posts, take advantage of people's desperation for real-time updates and their heightened emotional response to disasters.
According to research by the grassroots group Digital Insight Lab, many viral videos falsely claim to show the earthquake's aftermath.
However, these videos were filmed in places like Syria or Malaysia, or were entirely fabricated using artificial intelligence.
"Fake content accelerates panic, distorts reality, and undermines the trust people need in emergency services," said Jeanette Elsworth, head of communications at the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).
This kind of misinformation isn't new – following past disasters, such as the 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquake, misleading videos from earlier events, like tsunamis in Japan and Greenland, were circulated as if they were real-time footage from the crisis.
The financial incentives for spreading false content are vast. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok rely on advertising revenue, sharing profits with content creators.
"The more views and shares these posts get, the more money creators make – whether the content is true or not," said Victoire Rio, founder of the tech policy group What To Fix. In Myanmar, false posts have earned perpetrators tens of thousands of dollars.
Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok have both taken action to curb misinformation.
Meta states that it removes posts violating its policies and partners with fact-checkers to debunk false claims.
However, digital experts like Rio argue that social platforms still struggle to act fast enough to counter the overwhelming flood of disinformation, especially given the challenges posed by Myanmar’s internet shutdowns.
With misinformation on the rise, digital experts have warned that platforms and governments must do more to prevent the spread of false information in crisis situations. "Platforms need to proactively stop misinformation before it spreads," said Eliska Pirkova, senior policy analyst at Access Now, a digital rights group. "People's lives depend on accurate information during disasters."
Local civil society groups and international organizations have been stepping in to flag false content, but their resources are stretched thin, especially in countries already experiencing crisis. As Htaike Htaike Aung of the Myanmar Internet Project notes, "It's hindering a lot of aid efforts. Access to information is life or death."
Governments, too, are urged to act. While the European Union seeks to regulate tech companies, the United States' retreat from some digital protections leaves a gap in crisis response.
According to Elsworth, the fight against fake news requires a collective effort. "Everyone needs to get involved – from governments to religious leaders to local media."
