Myanmar Spring Chronicle – August 23 Highlights
(MoeMaKa, August 24, 2025)
The Disappearance of Truth and Facts Amid War
“The first casualty when war comes is truth.” — This was said by U.S. Senator Hiram Johnson in 1918, the year World War I ended. The remark endures because it captures the true nature of war so accurately that, even more than a century later, it still rings true.
Today, wars are raging across the globe. In Myanmar too, the decades-long unresolved civil war—over 70 years old, nearing 80—flared up again with renewed intensity more than four years ago.
And when civil war reignites, truth is the first to perish. To win wars, facts are hidden, minor events exaggerated, incidents inflated into dramatic narratives, while serious violations and atrocities are downplayed or denied by the perpetrators. Every side in the war, in greater or lesser measure, engages in such manipulation.
Some of this is done deliberately as part of propaganda, mobilization, morale-building, or disinformation efforts aimed at the enemy. Armed groups everywhere promote narratives that minimize their own losses and emphasize their strength. Slogans such as “Victory to the Just War” or “A warrior never dies—if slain, he goes to heaven” are familiar examples of propaganda meant to inspire.
The Myanmar military (the junta’s army), with its repeated coups and long legacy of repression, has consistently employed these same tactics. They do so to motivate soldiers—whether they joined voluntarily, under coercion, or through manipulation—and to maintain ideological and psychological influence over their ranks.
These methods are part of the psychological and propaganda machinery of armed forces. When issuing public statements, groups typically:
– Downplay their own casualties
– Use softer language like “tactical withdrawal” instead of “retreat”
– Call the loss of territory “relocation” instead of “defeat”
This is standard propaganda practice, learned and mirrored by nearly every armed organization.
Why Accurate Information Matters
However, for military and political leaders of armed groups, it is vital to know the true reality—not only about their own side but also about the enemy and the civilian population. Understanding the actual conditions, the hardships civilians face, and the real outcomes of battles is essential.
If decisions are made solely on the basis of propaganda, inflated numbers, or misleading claims, then inevitably there will come a time when poor decisions lead to heavy losses and disastrous outcomes.
Media, Social Media, and the Risk of Distortion
Depending only on information from media outlets and social media platforms is risky. Since the 2021 coup, even well-known independent media in Myanmar have not been able to station many reporters on the ground. Only in some big cities and in a few conflict zones do they manage to keep correspondents.
Even then, reporters cannot freely visit battlefields or sites of alleged human rights violations. Armed groups impose severe restrictions, citing security and intelligence concerns, meaning journalists cannot conduct free investigations.
As a result, much of what appears in the news comes from official statements issued by the armed groups themselves. Naturally, these cannot be 100% accurate.
Another issue: many media outlets rely heavily on social media monetization. This often pushes them to chase audience applause, boosting engagement by exaggerating numbers, spreading unrealistic hopes, or publishing inflammatory content. Since the coup, some of the most-watched social media news pages and YouTube channels have built their survival on such practices.
Ordinary people, who have consumed nightly promises of imminent victory for years, are increasingly skeptical. At some point, trust in these outlets has significantly eroded.
The public now views many reports as speculation rather than fact. While propaganda may help for mobilization in the short run, unrealistic promises and false expectations cannot sustain influence in the long term.
A Call for Responsibility
It is time for political organizations, armed groups, and the media to recognize the dangers of propaganda divorced from truth. Inflated expectations and misleading promises damage credibility, mislead the public, and can result in flawed decision-making.
For the media, the question must always be asked:
– How accurate are the facts we report?
– Will our reporting withstand historical scrutiny?
If not, we risk leaving behind a distorted record of history. That would be a lasting casualty of this war—just as grave as the lives and resources already lost.