Under The Angsana Tree: Combating fake news in Singapore

Singapore prepares legislation to confront fake news by 2018

‘We will define what’s unlawful’

Singapore plans to introduce legislation to tackle fake news next year, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said on Monday

“We will in the second half of this year consult with the stakeholders, the media, the legal profession, of course the internet companies, we have to work with them, and see what the contours or shape of the legislation ought to be,” Shanmugam told a forum on how to deal with fake news.

“Hopefully, we will have it in place next year or so,” he said in his opening address to the “Keep it real: truth and trust in the media” forum organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and the local Straits Times newspaper.
The minister expressed concern about misinformation that exploits racial and religious divides in Singapore’s multi-racial society.

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Singapore's ‘Fake News’ Claim Used to Censor Free Press

“Fake news.” We heard it during the U.S. presidential election, and now there’s no escape. Donald Trump might have kicked off the habit of branding anything and everything he doesn’t like to hear in the media as fake news, but there’s no shortage of powerful people happy to jump on the bandwagon.

Singapore is no exception. Earlier this month Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam indicated that the government was looking into ways to deal with fake news, as well as false allegations against the police. If this comes to pass – and, considering Singapore’s political context and the ruling party’s parliamentary supermajority, it most likely will – it will be yet another layer of control and state intervention into free speech and discussion in the city-state.

It seems stupid to argue against something that purports to protect society from falsehoods and hoaxes, but when talking about fake news we cannot ignore issues of asymmetric access to information, skewed power dynamics, and education.

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Singapore Government Eyes New Laws to Combat Fake News

Singapore is looking to join a team of nations trying to curb the spread of false information across social media through new legislation

Singapore is set to introduce a new law to force social media companies to remove misleading reports, according to a statement by Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, the country's Law and Home Affairs Minister.

Speaking at the opening of "Keep it real: truth and trust in the media," a two-day forum dedicated to news credibility, Shanmugam said that the legislation will be introduced after consultations with various specialists. According to the minister, the spread of the fake information poses the serious threat of inciting hatred in Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious society.

Shanmugam gave the example of somebody reposting a video of Pakistanis celebrating a cricket victory in the wake of the 2015 Paris terror attacks, changing the title and presenting it as if the video shows Muslims celebrating the massacre. "Five hundred thousand views within two hours, serious consequences, creates Islamophobia, makes people angry with Muslims," he said.

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Singapore aims to have legislation to tackle fake news in 2018

Singapore plans to introduce legislation to tackle fake news next year, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said Monday.

"We will in the second half of this year consult with the stakeholders, the media, the legal profession, of course the internet companies, we have to work with them, and see what the contours or shape of the legislation ought to be," Shanmugam told a forum on how to deal with fake news.

"Hopefully, we will have it in place next year or so," he said in his opening address to the "Keep it real: truth and trust in the media" forum organized by the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers and the local Straits Times newspaper.

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Shanmugam: Current law limited in dealing with fake news

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam

As the scourge of fake news takes hold across the globe, S'pore is seriously considering how to deal with it.

Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam told Parliament yesterday: "They can cause harm to S'poreans, alarm to the public, emergency resources... to be diverted, and the reputation of businesses (and) people can be completely, unreasonably, unfairly damaged."

He mentioned misleading stories that were published ahead of Britain's Brexit referendum to fuel xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments.

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Should we have a law against fake news?

A WHOLE thicket of rules and regulations now govern the news media, from the dinosaur-era Newspaper and Printing Presses Act and Class Licensing to registration of websites

Then there are the unseen OB markers which shouldn’t be crossed even though your words don’t amount to anything criminal. Plus, there is the Sedition Act and the myriad clauses under the Penal Code which can land you in jail.

Now, we are awaiting proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Act, which is really two years late. The hope is that the promised consultation on the changes will materialise given that it will affect nearly everyone, both content producers and consumers.

So what is the Law ministry thinking about now since the Supreme Court has ruled that the Protection from Harassment Act doesn’t cover entities, and there’s some confusion over what should be done about “false statements”? In the aftermath of the judgment, its spokesman said that it will “study the judgment and consider what further steps it should take to correct the deliberate spreading of falsehoods”.

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Govt to Review laws to Tackle Fake News

The Government is looking to review its laws to strengthen its powers to better combat fake news as current laws are limited said Law and Home Affairs Minister K.Shanmugam in Parliament on Monday (3 Apr)

Responding to queries in Parliament on this issue, Minister Shanmugam shared that the announcement on the changes will be made once the reviews have been completed.

He added that a review was needed as fake news can have real consequences and can cause harm to innocent Singaporeans; unnecessary alarm to the public. As a result, emergency resources may have to be diverted from legitimate emergencies and the reputation of honest Singapore businesses may be unfairly damaged.

related:
Best Antidote Against Fake News? Share the Facts!
Strategies to Tackle Fake News Underway

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Fake news tells more than just lies

Fake news is not a new phenomenon. Rumours of autism-causing vaccines and climate-change denial in pre-Internet days. Photo: Media Literacy Council

At the Committee of Supply (COS) debate earlier this month, several Members of Parliament (MPs) expressed concerns over the rise of fake news, noting that it may have influenced voter behaviour during the Brexit referendum & the 2016 United States Presidential Election.

MP Ong Teng Koon (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) also said that fake news has the potential to strain ethnic and religious fault lines in Spore’s multicultural society.

Fake news hinders people’s ability to make informed decisions, potentially causing them to act on false information.

related:
Most S’poreans concerned about fake news: BBC study
Can governments stop fake news?

Fake news tells more than just lies
Laws tackling fake news to be introduced next year: Shanmugam

Facebook adds tips for spotting 'fake news'
Fake news travels fast in India via WhatsApp
Spread of falsehoods ‘more serious now’ because of online, social media
New laws on fake news to be introduced next year: Shanmugam
Govt ‘seriously considering’ how to deal with fake news: Shanmugam

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Can governments stop fake news?

Fake news is in the news, again. This time it is mostly about governments planning to introduce new laws and penalties to stop their spread.

The German authorities are targeting Internet giants like Facebook, and plan to require them to take action against fake news posted on their sites failing which fines of up to 500,000 euros can be imposed.

In Britain, there is a parliamentary committee looking into the issue. The Singapore Government announced last month it is studying the matter and looks likely to introduce new laws. Why are governments stepping in, and will they succeed?

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Bad news for fake news

The number of fake news trending in Singapore has increased lately, but are we able to detect them?

Fake news have caused much concern among Singaporeans over the years. The good news is; it may soon be a thing of the past.

On Apr 3, Law and Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam announced in Parliament that the government is reviewing ways to deter fake news, as the current laws are limited in dealing with the growing problem.

Currently, it is an offence under the Telecommunications Act to share a message that you know is false. Offenders can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for three years, or both.

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Fake news alert: What happens to your CPF savings when you pass away?

If you have received a message or seen on social media recently that your CPF savings will be transferred to your nominee's Medisave account by default when you die - it's not true.

Gov.sg, the official online communication platform & repository of the S'pore Government, said "there is absolutely no basis to this rumour" in a post on their website today.

The message has been making its rounds on WhatsApp, SMS & social media.

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Fake news alert: Singapore man slept with 57 women in one day?

Many people went wow when they read the jaw-dropping news, but it's probably an internet hoax penned by an overly imaginative person who had nothing else better to do.

The questionable article about the amazing feat of a 34-yr-old Singapore man smashing the world record for sleeping with 57 women within a span of 24 hours has been making its rounds online since last week.

Many people and the tabloid media fell for it even though the report by a little-known website called Herald Europe was riddled with gaping holes.

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Keep it Real: Truth and Trust in the Media

The rise of fake news has become a pressing danger to modern societies. This timely two-day event brings together policymakers, news industry players and other stakeholders to explore concrete initiatives designed to fight the spread of misinformation in Asia.

From deliberate hoaxes created to cause mischief or make money, to media outlets re-circulating unverified or erroneous content, the misinformation ecosystem can take on many different faces. Often, people may not even know they are being exposed to questionable facts.

News media, in cooperation with tech companies, universities, foundations and civil society, can turn this challenge into an opportunity to improve their journalism practices in the social media era, strengthening their credibility and serving their communities better.

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New legislation to combat fake news likely to be introduced next year: Shanmugam

New legislation to tackle fake news is likely to be introduced next year, said Home Affairs & Law Minister K. Shanmugam on Monday (Jun 19).

He said the Government has to maintain a strong climate of trust, & be able to counter misinformation spread online as well.

The authorities must be equipped to deal with current challenges, he said, adding that society, the media and Internet companies also have a role to play.

related:
Government to review laws to tackle fake news
Many Singaporeans concerned about fake news

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Former ISD detainee responds to govt's intention to curb "fake news"

I squirmed when I read about the government’s “concern” and expression of intention to enact laws to fight fake news (The New Paper of 17 April 2017). The two experts consulted by the government on how to deal with fake news should go back 30 years ago and they will know all about fake news published by the Singapore government through its mouthpiece The Straits Times.

Just read the headline on the front page of The Straits Times of 22 May 1987: “ISD detains 16 for communist links”.

Can you imagine the reaction of my family, friends, judges and colleagues in the legal profession had been when they read the terrible headline on the morning of the day after my arrest?

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Most S’poreans concerned about fake news: BBC study

Over 80 per cent of Singaporean news consumers are concerned about fake news, the highest among the five countries surveyed by BBC Global News.

Commentators said Wednesday (May 24) the figure was not surprising, given that many Singaporeans consume news via social media, which is laden with dubious articles. The fact that people are concerned about the accuracy of what they are reading is welcome, they added, as it shows that news consumers are guarding themselves from being swept away by fake news.

The study, titled The Value of News — and the Importance of Trust, found that 84 per cent of Singaporeans surveyed expressed concern over fake news, with India coming in a close second at 83 per cent, followed by Hong Kong (77 per cent), Malaysia (76 per cent), and Australia (72 per cent).

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Fake News Also a Growing Worry in Singapore

An independent study conducted by Blackbox Research revealed that many Singaporeans are concerned about fake news, especially online and on social media sites. About 42% of all Singaporeans polled commented that they regularly wonder if the news they read online is true or false.

The proliferation of fake news also worries Singaporeans. Around 61% of those polled say they worry about reading fake news online to “some” extent, with one-third of them concerned about fake news “a lot”.

Nearly half of the survey population (47%) believe that at least “some” of the local news on social media is fake. Mainstream media news sites such as SPH, MediaCorp and Yahoo are seen as being far less likely to publish fake or misleading news compared to emerging online news outlets.

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Fake news

Reporters with various forms of "fake news" from an 1894 illustration by Frederick Burr Opper

Fake news is a type of yellow journalism that consists of deliberate misinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional print and broadcast news media or online social media. Fake news is written and published with the intent to mislead in order to gain financially or politically, often with sensationalist, exaggerated, or patently false headlines that grab attention. Intentionally misleading and deceptive fake news is different from obvious satire or parody. Fake news often employs eye-catching headlines or entirely fabricated news stories to increase readership, online sharing and Internet click revenue. In the latter case, it is similar to sensational online "clickbait" headlines and relies on advertising revenue generated from this activity, regardless of the veracity of the published stories. Fake news also undermines serious media coverage and makes it more difficult for journalists to cover significant news stories.

Easy access to online advertisement revenue, increased political polarization, and the popularity of social media, primarily the Facebook News Feed, have all been implicated in the spread of fake news, which have come to provide competition for legitimate news stories. An analysis by Buzzfeed found that the top 20 fake news stories about the 2016 U.S. Presidential election received more engagement on Facebook than the top 20 news stories on the election from 19 major media outlets.

Anonymously-hosted fake news websites lacking known publishers have also been credited, because they make it difficult to prosecute sources of fake news for libel. The relevance of fake news has increased in a post-truth political reality. In response, researchers have explored the development of a psychological "vaccine" to help people to detect fake news

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What to do about fake news?