What's Social Media Got To Do With It?

What's Social Media Got To Do With It?

From Rights & Wrongs by Human Rights Watch

April 27, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

The episode explores the impact of social media on the Rohingya community's plight and the broader implications for other communities facing similar crises.

Now that he’s arrived in Bangladesh, Maung finds himself stuck in an in-between. He’s safe from the violence he faced in his home state of Rakhine, Myanmar, but there are restrictions on his freedom of movement, limiting his education and leaving him to grapple with the history that brought his community to the world’s largest refugee camp. In this episode, host Ngofeen Mputubwele traces this history. Within the story of ethnic cleansing and apartheid enacted upon the ethnic Rohingya community, other big themes rise up. Witnesses and experts recount the role that social media played in Maung’s trajectory, and point to other communities facing this crisis across the globe. Maung Sawyeddollah: Agent of Change, Rohingya Muslim Matt Schissler: Lecturer in history and anthropology at the University of Melbourne Htaike Htaike Aung: Director of the Myanmar Internet Project Kaamil Ahmed: Journalist for The Guardian; author of "I Feel No Peace" Shayna Bauchner: Researcher, Asia Division at Human Rights Watch Maria Ressa: Nobel Peace Prize laureate; co-founder and CEO of Rappler

People in this episode

Host: Ngofeen Mputubwele

Guest: Maung Sawyeddollah

Topics covered

  • social media
  • Rohingya community
  • ethnic cleansing
  • refugee crisis
  • freedom of movement

Keywords

  • social media
  • Rohingya
  • Bangladesh
  • refugee camp
  • ethnic cleansing
  • freedom of movement
  • Maung Sawyeddollah
  • Maria Ressa
  • Human Rights Watch

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Human Rights Watch

Places: Bangladesh, Myanmar, Rakhine, world’s largest refugee camp

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