Myanmar Junta Media Spread False Report of Min Aung Hlaing ASEAN Summit Invitation

Pro-Myanmar junta media on Monday launched a disinformation campaign disseminating a false report that regime chief Min Aung Hlaing will attend the upcoming 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Oct. 26, despite the fact that the bloc has banned him from its gatherings.

The upcoming ASEAN Summit is expected to be one of the largest in history, with US President Donald Trump and more than a dozen other international and regional leaders set to attend.

On Monday, pro-junta media including Eleven Media Group, One News Myanmar, NP News and Yangon Media Group, as well as pro-junta Telegram channels, reported that the junta boss would attend the upcoming summit, citing a report in the New Strait Times. The Malaysian outlet later removed a line from its story that said Min Aung Hlaing would attend.