Angry Posts: Myanmar’s Anti-Military Rhetoric on the Internet

Abstract

Since the military regime overthrew the democratically elected government in 2021, the world has raised serious concerns about human rights violations in Myanmar. In addition to international efforts calling on the military regime to cease violence, local pro-democracy activists have also undertaken various discursive strategies to mobilize civic action on social media. These online narratives are characterized by hate speech, mockery, and threatening remarks directed at individual soldiers rather than directly challenging the military regime. This article connects the concepts of affective publics with contentious repertoires and connective action, highlighting the dynamics of the affective turn in Myanmar’s pro-democracy rhetoric—manifested in how Burmese citizens use social media to create networked publics and protest communities. It demonstrates the normative role of sentiments, such as anger, in mobilizing support and shows how such affective publics share certain characteristics with digital populism, which may evolve into radicalized narratives that morally condemn “evil” soldiers.