CNI News

26 July 2022

Rumours are being fabricated more frequently and floating rumours about Kyat and foreign currencies amounted to destruction of the economy of the country, Vice governor U Win Thaw of the Central Bank of Myanmar told the CNI.

Recently, negative comments about the CBM were frequently seen on social media, he said.

U Win Thaw said, “Recently, it was posted on social media that the government would forfeit K 10,000 notes. The public was worried about the notes and tried to buy dollars and gold. So, the prices of dollars and gold rose up and the economy was in chaos. Now, rumour has it that the government was planning to issue foreign exchange certificates and US dollars would be seized. So, people buy gold and land and the prices of gold and land go up. They are taking advantage of the weakness and worries of the public, who tend to believe unreliable news. This amounted to destroying the economy of the country and sabotaging the government.”

The aim of spreading rumours is to increase the prices of foreign currencies to promote self-interests, an economist told the CNI.

As rumours can create more or less consequences, it is necessary for relevant authorities to verify them as soon as possible. Otherwise, the public will have to suffer consequences, he added.

“This is because when a rumour has spread, merchants may raise prices or decide to hold on to their products. However, the general public may not think the same way as some rumours proved to be true later. For instance, when rumour has it that rice prices are going to rise, people buy rice and rice prices go up. So, rumours can create real effects, which in turn create rumours. It is very difficult for the general public to understand the real situation. So, it is the responsibility of authorities to explain the real situation to the general public. From the economic point of view, rumours must be checked by policies and reliable news,” he said.

He urged the public to think thoroughly before believing something as rumours can create fears and anxieties when a country is unstable.

Recently, rumours spread among the public that the government would forfeit all US dollars in the country and reintroduce the FEC system, which caused alarm among the people.

The CBM announced that it was just a rumour and they do not have such plans.

It was learnt that authorities and the Ministry of Home Affairs have acquired technologies to expose those who spread rumours and fake news and to take action against them.