Mr. Petersen said local media and news outlets should help combat misinformation in a technology sector still in its infancy.

“There are still some challenges here, and there are of course very big differences between big cities and rural communities,” he said. “I think it’s really important that people focus on educating this new generation of digital users.”

In the meantime, Facebook has become a breeding ground for hate speech and virulent posts about the Rohingya. And because of Facebook’s design, posts that are shared and liked more frequently get more prominent placement in feeds, favoring highly partisan content in timelines.

Ashin Wirathu, the monk, has hundreds of thousands of followers on Facebook accounts in Burmese and English. His posts include graphic photos and videos of decaying bodies that Ashin Wirathu says are Buddhist victims of Rohingya attacks, or posts denouncing the minority ethnic group or updates that identify them falsely as “Bengali” foreigners.

Facebook has removed some of his posts and restricted his page for stretches, but it is currently active. In an interview, Ashin Wirathu said that if Facebook did remove his account, he would simply create a new one. He added that if anyone did not like his Facebook posts, “they can sue me.”

Posts from verified government and military Facebook accounts also carry misinformation. Some, for example, refuse to acknowledge the Rohingya as an ethnic group deserving of citizenship rights, despite the fact many have lived in Rakhine State for generations.