A recent article published by Time magazine has caused an uproar among those involved in the political unrest currently ongoing in Myanmar (Burma) leading to it’s boycott and drawing criticism from all sides. Burmese monk Ashin Wirathu is widely known for his controversial statements and has been widely blamed for the rise in anti-Muslim violence in the newly democratising nation-state. Wirathu interestingly enough utilized the same source, social media, so condemn The Time Magazine article calling it “serious violation of media ethics by media workers in a powerful nation” and said he was “very surprised.” However, can he be that surprised? Social media has been heavily used in the subject of terrorism and has been widely utilized by both sides to support their agendas. While the article itself is shocking to most, it is the exact propaganda that is used to fuel political issues and continued oppression of innocent civilians. I do agree that social media needs to utilize added caution when running with fresh off the press information or intelligence and consider the consequences for those who are innocently affected by the media. The same would go for individuals such as Wirathu. He call’s the article reckless and un-ethical yet his very own statements fall under the same category.

http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201306242119-0022853