A Facebook account named Thura Thiha Mogyo posted a false news on October 16 accusing People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) of burning down a school in Ingapu Township in Hinthada District, Irrawaddy Division.
The owner of the Facebook account posted pictures of some school buildings on fire and wrote in inappropriate terms, "Vulgar PDF terrorists burnt down school in Ingapu."
In fact, that post was just false information. It is true that the classroom buildings of the Ingapu High School were burnt, but it was not because of PDFs’ arson attack. The fire department under the Military Council has announced that the school caught fire due to a short circuit. The statement issued by the Fire Department can be seen here. (https://bit.ly/3ShXYJQ)
When Mizzima news agency contacted the Irrawaddy Fire Department under the Military Council, an official of the department confirmed that the fire was caused by a short circuit from old wires in the classrooms.
Some locals speculated that it could be an arson attack because many school buildings caught fire at the same time, but they did not comment about the perpetrators.
Mizzima's contact with the fire department can be seen here. (https://bit.ly/3CPAtlG) And the report by Network Media Group can be read here. (https://bit.ly/3TrZF8u)
Therefore, it becomes obvious that the owner of the Thura Thiha Mogyo Facebook account intentionally spread false information to mislead the public about PDFs.
Nowadays, it can be seen that misinformation related to NUG, CRPH and ethnic armed organizations, misinformation related to the dialogues between the Junta leaders and ethnic leaders, false news intended to distribute hate speech and to ignite conflicts between the different races are being deliberately spread online.
When disseminating such false news, old photos are occasionally used to mislead the readers. Sometimes photos, videos and written content are irrelevant.
In the current period of political instability, there are people who spread misinformation online in various forms. So, it is best to first check the news from reliable media outlets, before sharing a sensitive news online.
