SINGAPORE: Australia-based academic website East Asia Forum was issued a correction direction by Singapore's Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office on Wednesday (Jan 22).
This was after an article it published on Jan 14 contained "false statements in relation to Singapore’s governance".
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Indranee Rajah, instructed the POFMA Office to issue a correction direction in relation to the article titled "Singapore’s new prime minister entangled in old politics".
East Asia Forum will be required to carry correction notices against the article and social media platforms X, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The correction notice will "state that the article contains false statements of fact, and to provide a link to the government’s clarification".
"This will allow readers to read both versions and draw their own conclusions," said the POFMA office.
As of 11am, no correction notices were put up on East Asia Forum's article on its site or social media pages.
East Asia Forum previously had its site unblocked after it was initially issued a correction direction in September 2023.
Internet service providers in Singapore were ordered to block access to the website after it failed to comply with the order, which required it to publish a correction notice at the top of an article and the website’s main page.
It had posted a link instead to a government statement at the end of the article's comment section, at the bottom of the website.
According to the government's fact-checking website, Factually, the Jan 14 article published on East Asia Forum "communicates assertions which are false and misleading".
The East Asia Forum article, according to Factually, falsely said that the Singapore government "misused the resources and time of the Cabinet, parliament, the police ... to pursue Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's private agenda against his siblings and turn his family home, into a memorial to his father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and himself".
The police investigations involving Mr Lee Hsien Loong's sibling was because a disciplinary tribunal found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern lied under oath. Additionally, no decision has been made yet on 38 Oxley Road, noted Factually.
The article also falsely claimed that Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was prosecuted without basis, "in pursuit of motives other than proper enforcement of the law", said Factually.
According to Factually, the conduct of Mr Singh before the Committee of Privileges was referred to the Public Prosecutor under the Parliament Act and the prosecution "decided to prefer two charges against Mr Singh".
The article also falsely communicated that the prosecution declined to prosecute six senior executives of Keppel Offshore & Marine and alleged that "there is a complete absence of laws or conventions requiring political office holders to declare their financial interests, assets, or conflicts of interest".
The author of the article - Michael Barr, an associate professor of international relations at Flinders University - suggested there was some impropriety in the reduction of the two charges S Iswaran, according to Factually.
Factually added that while "Barr is free to express his opinions from afar, he is not free to make sweeping false allegations".
The fact-checking site said the government has zero tolerance for corruption.
"Singapore’s governance system is built on a foundation of integrity and public service, carefully established over generations and upheld by successive leaders.
"The Singapore government remains steadfast in its commitment to earning and preserving the people’s trust, including countering those who attempt to erode it by spreading falsehoods," Factually said.
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This was after an article it published on Jan 14 contained "false statements in relation to Singapore’s governance".
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Indranee Rajah, instructed the POFMA Office to issue a correction direction in relation to the article titled "Singapore’s new prime minister entangled in old politics".
East Asia Forum will be required to carry correction notices against the article and social media platforms X, Facebook and LinkedIn.
The correction notice will "state that the article contains false statements of fact, and to provide a link to the government’s clarification".
"This will allow readers to read both versions and draw their own conclusions," said the POFMA office.
As of 11am, no correction notices were put up on East Asia Forum's article on its site or social media pages.
East Asia Forum previously had its site unblocked after it was initially issued a correction direction in September 2023.
Internet service providers in Singapore were ordered to block access to the website after it failed to comply with the order, which required it to publish a correction notice at the top of an article and the website’s main page.
It had posted a link instead to a government statement at the end of the article's comment section, at the bottom of the website.
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GOVERNMENT'S CLARIFICATIONS
According to the government's fact-checking website, Factually, the Jan 14 article published on East Asia Forum "communicates assertions which are false and misleading".
The East Asia Forum article, according to Factually, falsely said that the Singapore government "misused the resources and time of the Cabinet, parliament, the police ... to pursue Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's private agenda against his siblings and turn his family home, into a memorial to his father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and himself".
The police investigations involving Mr Lee Hsien Loong's sibling was because a disciplinary tribunal found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern lied under oath. Additionally, no decision has been made yet on 38 Oxley Road, noted Factually.
The article also falsely claimed that Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh was prosecuted without basis, "in pursuit of motives other than proper enforcement of the law", said Factually.
According to Factually, the conduct of Mr Singh before the Committee of Privileges was referred to the Public Prosecutor under the Parliament Act and the prosecution "decided to prefer two charges against Mr Singh".
The article also falsely communicated that the prosecution declined to prosecute six senior executives of Keppel Offshore & Marine and alleged that "there is a complete absence of laws or conventions requiring political office holders to declare their financial interests, assets, or conflicts of interest".
The author of the article - Michael Barr, an associate professor of international relations at Flinders University - suggested there was some impropriety in the reduction of the two charges S Iswaran, according to Factually.
Factually added that while "Barr is free to express his opinions from afar, he is not free to make sweeping false allegations".
The fact-checking site said the government has zero tolerance for corruption.
"Singapore’s governance system is built on a foundation of integrity and public service, carefully established over generations and upheld by successive leaders.
"The Singapore government remains steadfast in its commitment to earning and preserving the people’s trust, including countering those who attempt to erode it by spreading falsehoods," Factually said.
Continue reading...