Disinformation and Societal Resilience graduate awarded Asia Centre scholarship

Mst Zannatul Kobra, a graduate of the master's programme in Disinformation and Societal Resilience, was awarded the University of Tartu Asia Centre Scholarship for her master's thesis, “Navigating Information in Crisis: Youth Agency, Communication Vulnerability, and Social Cohesion in Cox's Bazar”, supervised by Ragne Kõuts-Klemm, Associate Professor of Sociology of Journalism.

The thesis examines how Rohingya refugees and young people from the Bangladeshi host community navigate the complex information environment in Cox's Bazar, and how their everyday communication practices influence communication-related vulnerability, information resilience, and social cohesion. The research shows that young people play a vital role as information intermediaries within their communities. They translate between languages and generations, facilitate access to digital platforms, verify misinformation, and relay emergency information, largely through community-based networks operating without formal institutional recognition or support.

The study identifies four main categories of misinformation circulating in the Cox's Bazar refugee camps and shows that, since 2017, deliberate disinformation has increasingly replaced unintentional misinformation. It also proposes two extensions to the concept of communication-related vulnerability by highlighting young people's role in relaying emergency information and demonstrating that Rohingya youth perform these functions under considerably greater physical, legal, and reputational risks than members of the host community.

The thesis further concludes that restrictions on internet access do not prevent the spread of information but instead limit access to reliable information and contribute to the spread of misinformation. Based on these findings, the study recommends expanding regulated internet access for Rohingya refugees, strengthening digital literacy, supporting youth-led information networks, and recognising communication as an integral component of humanitarian assistance.

The University of Tartu Asia Centre awarded three scholarships in June 2026. Two scholarships were granted to graduates from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Faculty of Social Sciences in recognition of their outstanding master's theses, while the third scholarship was awarded to a medical student to support a study placement in Asia. The scholarship aims to support students of the University of Tartuwhose research focuses on Asia and/or the Middle East or on topics related to these regions.

Zannatul Kobra's MA thesis

Study Disinformation and Societal Resilience