Joke posts about Myanmar power blackouts mislead social media users

This article is more than one year old.
Published on March 18, 2022 at 05:58
2 min read
By AFP Thailand

A video that shows an elaborate dance stunt has been viewed hundreds of times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows employees of Myanmar's state electricity provider staging an event despite rolling power outages in the country in March. Comments to the posts suggest social media users thought the stunt was staged in Myanmar. But the video was originally shared by a page that regularly posts satirical content. The owner of the video told AFP it shows an event in the Philippines.

The video was shared here on Facebook on March 9. It has been viewed over 700 times.

The clip appears to show a group of men dressed in safety gear dancing on top of utility poles.

The post's Burmese-language caption translates as: "Now I know the reason brothers and sisters from EPC cut power. Brothers and sisters from EPC, please take it easy. You'll fall down."

"EPC" is the acronym for Electricity Power Corporation, the old but still widely used name for Myanmar's Ministry of Electricity and Energy.

Background music could be heard in the clip with lyrics that state in part, "It’s summer. We visited the blackout world many times. No fans or air conditioners work. EPC saves the world."

A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post taken on March 18, 2022.

Power outages are common in Myanmar thanks to a creaky and outdated electricity grid, with demand regularly outstripping supply during the sweltering summer months.

In March, the junta announced the country's already patchy power supply would be further reduced for seven days, blaming rising gas prices and attacks by anti-coup fighters on infrastructure.

AFP reported on the developments here.

The same video was also shared alongside a similar claim in Facebook posts here, here and here.

Some social media users appeared to be misled by the video, thinking it shows staff at the EPC.

One wrote, "We are cursing you because of power shortages. But you are dancing on the top of poles."

Another said, "What Myanmar people have done are always unusual."

However, the video was originally shared here on Facebook on a page that frequently posts memes and political jokes.

Philippine event

A reverse image search on Google found the satirical video had been taken from longer footage published on YouTube here on November 27, 2016.

The YouTube video was uploaded by the Misamis Oriental-1 Rural Electric Service Cooperative Inc (MORESCO-1), a power company in the southern Philippines.

The video's description reads in part, "8 November 2016 - Lineman Graduation Rites for the MORESCO-1 community.

"It has been a tradition that every graduation rites, the lineman graduates will dance and demonstrate their skills on top of the pole."

Linemen are electricians who install, maintain and repair outdoor electrical transmission systems.

In an email to AFP, a representative for MORESCO-1 said, "We confirm ownership of this video."

Below are screenshot comparisons of the video shared in the misleading post (left) and the MORESCO-1 video on YouTube (right).

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