In April 2025, Myanmar’s military junta escalated its campaign of violence against civilians, compounding the suffering of communities already devastated by the 28 March earthquake. Instead of facilitating lifesaving relief, the junta used the disaster as cover to intensify aerial assaults, shelling, and ground raids across the country. Junta forces targeted crowded markets, religious sites, homes, and schools and killing children, elderly people, and entire families.

Despite publicly declaring a ceasefire on 2 April, the junta broke it within hours and continued to carry out operations that targeted civilians and obstructed humanitarian access. In disaster affected areas like Sagaing, Mandalay, and Chin States, airstrikes destroyed churches, monasteries, and shelters, while junta forces blocked aid deliveries and dismantled temporary mosques set up by displaced Muslim communities.

Rohingya communities faced renewed persecution, not only from the junta but also from the Arakan Army (AA), which continues to expand its control across Rakhine State. Throughout April, the AA carried out forced evictions, destroyed homes and places of worship, and ordered entire villages to relocate under threat. The silence of many regional and international actors in the face of these abuses further entrenches a dangerous pattern of selective accountability.

Read more: April 2025 - Summary of Monthly Situation Update

In January 2025, the military regime enacted a new technology law aimed at controlling hate speech and fake news. The law mandates the removal of "fake news" and "hate speech" from internet platforms, with penalties for non-compliance. Additionally, it bans the use of VPN services without permission. However, the military’s law is only focused on criticisms of it and does not affect ethnic armed groups, the People’s Defense Forces, or the general public.

In March 2025, widespread hate speech on social media and print media in Myanmar was prominently observed in BHRN's Hate Speech Monitoring Report. Particularly, hate speech targeting Muslims, the Rohingya ethnic, PDF members, ethnic armed groups such as AA and KIA, members of the People’s Defense Forces, and female revolutionaries has been on the rise. These speeches involve racial, religious, gender, political, and social class-based justifications, portraying these groups as criminals, degrading them, and inciting violence.

It was observed that, in terms of religious hate speech, the Buddhist community predominantly spread hate towards Muslims. Following the earthquake on March 28, there were also instances of hate speech regarding the destruction of many Islamic religious sites including mosques. Although these buildings have existed for over a century, they were severely damaged due to successive government denial of repair permits. There have also been calls to prevent the reconstruction of these schools, leaving Muslims excluded from assistance in the process.

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Myanmar’s military junta continued to terrorize civilians throughout March 2025, even as a devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the country. The disaster, which killed thousands and displaced tens of thousands more, was met not with aid but with obstruction: junta forces blocked humanitarian access, denied entry to earthquake affected opposition-held areas, and even launched fresh airstrikes on communities struggling to survive.

While pro-democracy forces declared ceasefires to facilitate relief efforts, the military pressed ahead with attacks in Sagaing, Bago, Magway, and Shan States. Junta air raids killed dozens of civilians and destroyed schools, homes, and religious buildings. Monasteries were bombed, clergy killed, and churches burned, part of a growing pattern of attacks on protected places and people.

Read more: March 2025 - Summary of Monthly Situation Update

Introduction

This report documents instances of hate speech, discriminatory expressions, and unjust criticism disseminated through social media, online platforms, and print media. It analyzes the nature, prevalence, and societal impact of hate speech observed throughout February.

This report aims to promote safer and more respectful communication while fostering greater social harmony in online spaces. By sharing knowledge on how to identify, respond to, and protect against hate speech, we hope to contribute to a more stable and inclusive society.

Research Methodology

As hate speech is a term that comes from emotion, there is a wide spectrum in defining it, not a specific one. BHRN, therefore, standardized the definition of hate speech for this report as follows. Hate speech in this report means aggressiveness and hatred against protected characteristics of a person or a group, blaming, discriminative expression, writing, gesture, or art expression of excoriation, dehumanization.

It means attacking someone’s faith, language, gender, sexual orientation, origin, ethnicity, skin color, race, belief, citizenship and physical appearance. The monitored hate speeches were categorized as (1) Criminalizing Hate Speech, (2) Abusive Hate Speech, (3) Dehumanizing Hate Speech, (4) Violence Inciting Hate Speech, (5) Threatening Hate Speech, and (6) Hate Speech that supports prejudicial actions inspired by hate speech.

Read more: February 2025 - Digital Hate Monthly Report (Eng -Myan)