Rohingya Monitor Officially Launches as an Investigative Monitoring Platform for Rohingya Affairs

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Rohingya Monitor is officially launching today as an independent investigative monitoring platform dedicated to reporting, documenting and investigating crimes and other affairs affecting Rohingya communities across the Rohingya refugee camps and Arakan State of Myanmar.

The platform was created to bring greater attention to stories that are often overlooked, underreported or difficult to reach. From crimes and human rights violations to abuses, threats, disappearances and other serious incidents, Rohingya Monitor will focus on documenting what happens on the ground and bringing important facts to the public. We will also publish news articles directly from the ground.

Our work will cover Rohingya communities in refugee camps, Myanmar's Arakan State and other places where Rohingya people are present. The platform will combine news reporting with investigative monitoring, documentation, fact-checking and the preservation of information that may otherwise be lost.

Rohingya Monitor will particularly focus on stories that receive little attention. Many victims and communities do not have access to major media outlets, while some incidents remain hidden because people are afraid to speak, information is difficult to verify, or the events take place far from public attention.

Through its investigative work, Rohingya Monitor will document cases, examine available evidence, follow developments and publish findings where information can be responsibly established. The Expose Criminals initiative under Rohingya Monitor will also document serious criminal cases and help build a record of individuals involved in crimes affecting Rohingya communities on the platform in two ways; Public and encrypted. The individual records of criminals will be released following the Privacy Policy and Terms of Coverage at Rohingya Monitor.

Accuracy and responsible reporting will remain central to the platform's work. Information and allegations of crimes will be carefully examined and investigated before any action is taken. Rohingya Monitor does not publish allegations as publicly accessible records in its database. Instead, alleged cases are investigated, relevant information is assessed, and necessary steps are taken regarding individuals where the available information and evidence warrant further action. Sensitive sources and victims will also be treated with care throughout the process. We may sometimes publish news articles regarding the allegations of crimes against anyone.

The launch of Rohingya Monitor comes at a time when accurate documentation of Rohingya issues remains critically important. Across social media, particularly through hundreds of Facebook pages and channels, large amounts of false and misleading information are being circulated through videos and articles generated with artificial intelligence.

Some of this content has been found to promote narratives associated with anti-Rohingya movements, including ethnic Rakhine networks and the Arakan Army, as well as other actors both within and outside the Rohingya community. The spread of such propaganda can distort public understanding of events and deepen tensions between communities.

Rohingya Monitor has recently observed an increase in AI-generated propaganda videos being circulated through locally branded channels across the Cox's Bazar area, including Ukhia Channel, Ukhia News, Teknaf Today, The Territorial News (TTN), Islam Insight and Arakan News Agency, among others. Much of the content appears to be produced using artificial intelligence and presented as news or factual reporting.

Such false and propaganda-driven content can leave ordinary people confused about what is actually happening on the ground and, in some cases, contribute to tensions and physical violence between communities. Our monitoring has also identified allegations that many of these channels operate in exchange for financial support from rival groups or promote the interests of individuals involved in the Yaba drug trade in return for money. These claims require continued investigation and documentation.

Despite the growing circulation of such content, no significant action has been taken against these channels over their alleged role in spreading false and propaganda material.

Rohingya Monitor aims to provide accurate, ground-based updates and information that can help distinguish facts from fabricated or manipulated content. Our reporting will focus particularly on crime, security and human rights issues affecting Rohingya communities in the refugee camps and in Arakan State.

Our published content will remain openly accessible to legitimate media outlets, journalists, researchers and human rights activists who need reliable information to report on developments affecting Rohingya communities.

The purpose is simple: to bring real information from the ground into the public record and ensure that important stories are not buried under misinformation, propaganda or fabricated news.