{"id":1573,"date":"2017-09-21T08:00:22","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T13:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/?p=1573"},"modified":"2017-09-18T14:58:08","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T19:58:08","slug":"propaganda-and-atrocity-in-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/trot\/2017\/09\/21\/propaganda-and-atrocity-in-myanmar\/","title":{"rendered":"Propaganda and Atrocity in Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Mathias Eick, EU\/ECHO, Rakhine State, Myanmar\/Burma, September 2013. Flickr CC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Rohingya<\/span><\/a>, a Muslim minority group, have been the target of violence for years in Myanmar, also known as Burma<\/a>. But in recent weeks, international media coverage has surged following a spike in violence that has led to over 120,000 Rohingya\u00a0<\/span>fleeing their homes<\/span><\/a>. The increased media attention, however, has also provided a platform for an anti-Rohingya propaganda campaign that argues the Rohingya are <\/span>\u201cterrorists\u201d<\/span><\/a> and deserve the violence that befalls them. Sociologists have brought new insight into how propaganda enables the acceptance of atrocities and how it can directly impact rates of violence.<\/span><\/p>\n

Propaganda campaigns often demonize a group by characterizing them as less-than-human. Refugee communities, for example, are often treated with fear and suspicion by members of their host nation. This can also negatively impact individual-level interactions with the mistrusted group, such as higher rates of expressed aggression and contempt. Studies show that when a group is dehumanized, those outside of the group find it easier to exclude them and assume that they are more deserving of problems in their lives.<\/span><\/h5>\n