Facebook in Thailand: BBC to Begin Broadcasting on Social Media to Circumvent Censors
After Thailand's government was toppled by the military, the new leaders of the country began imposing control over the media, preventing the spread of information. Now, one news organization is figuring out a way to do its job.
In May, the Thai military junta, the de facto rulers of the nation, began censoring the media. The military enacted a total media blackout, depriving the Thai people of access to news and forcing news channels, including international ones like CNN and BBC, to stop broadcasting, according to Mashable.
"All radio and television stations, satellite and cable, must stop normal programming and broadcast army content until told otherwise," an army spokesman said in a televised statement.
However, the BBC World Service has decided to do what it calls "pop up" news streams in the nation. According to a statement released by the BBC, the new operation will be digital only and will place an emphasis on social media, with news streams on social media sites and continue providing information to the country.
"One of the fundamental principles of the World Service is to bring impartial and accurate news and to countries when they lack it. We think the time is right to trial a new Thai and English digital stream to bring trusted news and information to people inside Thailand," said Liliane Landor, Controller of Language Services for the World Service.
According to the statement, Thailand has 96 million mobile subscriptions and 24 million Facebook subscribers all out of a population of 67 million and the BBC will make use of these resources. The experiment will be conducted for the next three months, according to The Telegraph. The broadcaster will have shows in both English and Thai, covering international and Thai news.
The BBC, following the law, asked for permission from the Foreign Secretary William Hague and he allowed the company to move forward.
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