Singapore invokes 'fake news' law for first time over Facebook post by opposition member Brad Bowyer
Singapore political figure Brad Bowyer. — Picture via facebook.com/SGBelieves
Singapore political figure Brad Bowyer today corrected a Facebook post questioning the independence of state investment firms following a government request, in the first use of the country's new “fake news” law.
Bowyer used “false and misleading” statements alleging the government influenced decisions made by state investors Temasek Holdings and GIC, according to a statement on the official government fact-checking website.
Bowyer said he had placed a correction notice with a link to the government statement above his Facebook post following a request to do so under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma). “I have no problem in following that request as I feel it is fair to have both points of view and clarifications and corrections of fact when necessary,” Bowyer said in a statement on Facebook.
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Singapore invokes ‘fake news’ law for first time over politician’s Facebook post
The Singapore government on Monday invoked its newly enacted anti-fake news law for the first time to demand opposition politician Brad Bowyer correct a Facebook post in which he questioned the independence of the country’s two main state investment companies.
Bowyer, of the Progress Singapore Party, later wrote that he had amended the November 13 post as he “had no problem in following that request as I feel it is fair to have both points of view and clarifications and corrections of fact when necessary”.
In a statement, the government said Heng Swee Keat, the deputy prime minister and finance minister, had issued a “correction order” to Bowyer over his post, which dwelled on GIC and Temasek Holdings – among the world’s biggest state investors.
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Singapore uses law against misinformation for first time
Singapore used its law to combat misinformation for the first time Monday, November 25, ordering an opposition figure to correct a Facebook post authorities said could "smear the reputation" of state investment funds.
The legislation, which came into force last month, gives government ministers powers to order social media sites to put warnings next to posts authorities deem to be false, and in extreme cases, get them taken down. Tech giants including Google and Twitter have criticized the law, as have activists who fear it could stifle online dissent, but the government insists the measure is necessary to stop the circulation of damaging falsehoods.
Brad Bowyer, a member of opposition group Progress Singapore Party, was ordered to correct a November 13 Facebook post in which he questioned the independence of state-linked investment vehicle Temasek and sovereign wealth fund GIC.
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Singapore invokes 'fake news' law for first time over Facebook post
A politician in Singapore has corrected a Facebook post that questioned the independence of state investment firms after a government request, in the first use of the country’s “fake news” law.
Brad Bowyer used “false and misleading” statements alleging that the government had influenced decisions made by the state investors Temasek Holdings and GIC, according to a statement on the official government factchecking website.
Bowyer said he had placed a correction notice with a link to the government statement above his Facebook post after a request to do so under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
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Use of POFMA on an online posting by Mr Brad Bowyer
In a recent Facebook post, Mr Brad Bowyer implied that the Government was involved in individual investment decisions of GIC and Temasek. He was issued with a Correction Direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (POFMA) Act on 25 November 2019.
Mr Bowyer’s post contains clearly false statements of fact, and undermines public trust in the Government.
It is necessary to state this for the record: GIC and Temasek operate on a commercial basis, and the Government is not involved in their individual investment decisions.
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Government uses “anti-fake news” law to eliminate public debate
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in a statement on Friday, expressed that it is appalled by the totalitarian aspects of Singapore’s new, highly controversial “anti-fake news” law, under which the authorities issued two directives ordering “corrections” to Facebook posts within the space of a week. Below is RSF’s report and comments on the new law and the takedowns.
The “corrections” are posted on a government web page called “Factually” that was up and running as soon as the law, the Protection from Online Falsehood and Manipulation Act (POFMA), took effect in October. This page claims to present the “correct facts” as opposed to what the law calls “online falsehoods and manipulation” and displays each “corrected” item with the word “FALSE” stamped on it in large red letters.
The first directive was sent by the finance minister on 21 November to an opposition politician who had posted a note on Facebook questioning the investments made by two Singaporean sovereign wealth funds. It forced him to post a “Correction notice” at the top of his post with a link to the government web page with the “correct facts.”
Singapore uses law against misinformation
Singapore used its law to combat misinformation for the first time Monday, ordering an opposition figure to correct a Facebook post authorities said could “smear the reputation” of state investment funds.
The legislation, which came into force last month, gives government ministers powers to order social media sites to put warnings next to posts authorities deem to be false, and in extreme cases get them taken down.
Tech giants including Google and Twitter have criticized the law, as have activists who fear it could stifle online dissent, but the government insists the measure is necessary to stop the circulation of damaging falsehoods.
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Fake news law used for 1st time over PSP member's FB post
The government has invoked the Protection against Online Falsehoods and Manipulations Act (POMFA) for the first time, as the POFMA Office issued a correction notice to opposition party member Brad Bowyer.
The notice was issued on the instruction of Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and relates to a Facebook post made by Bowyer, a Progress Singapore Party (PSP) member, on 13 November, said the POFMA Office in a statement on Tuesday (26 November).
“The Correction Direction requires Mr Bowyer to carry in full, the correction notice at the top of his Facebook post,” the statement added.
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Singapore invokes 'fake news' law for first time
A British-born politician in Singapore has become the first citizen requested by the government to correct a Facebook post under "fake news" legislation. The post questioned the independence of state investment firms. Brad Bowyer, a naturalized Singaporean, placed a correction notice on Monday with a link to a government statement following a request by the finance minister under the newly-created Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
The government claimed he used "false statements of fact and misleading statements," alleging the Singaporean government influenced decisions made by state investors Temasek Holdings and GIC.
Bowyer has been a member of the ruling party and opposition parties but has never stood for elected office. "In general, I caution all those who comment on our domestic politics and social issues to do so with due care and attention especially if you speak from any place of influence," Boyer said in a statement on Facebook.
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First target of Singapore’s ‘fake news’ law is Facebook post that alleged a failed state investment in Salt Bae
Singapore invoked its “fake news” law for the first time Monday, making a citizen amend a Nov. 13 post that the government said used “false and misleading statements” to smear reputations.
But the first use of the law did not focus on misinformation sown by a foreign state or that aimed to provoke sectarianism in Singapore’s multiethnic state, two stated aims of the “fake news” law.
Instead, the legislation was used in response to a Facebook post from an opposition politician that accused the government of responsibility for a failing investment in Turkish restaurant chain Salt Bae.
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Singapore deploys ‘fake news’ law against government critic
Singapore has used its “fake news” law for the first time to force a British-born opposition party member to withdraw social media postings questioning the independence of state investment companies.
Brad Bowyer, of the Progress Singapore Party, was ordered to correct “false and misleading” statements alleging the government had influenced decisions made by state investors at Temasek Holdings and GIC. A government statement, published alongside a screenshot of Mr Bowyer’s post stamped with the word “false” in red, corrected what it said were falsehoods and accused him of seeking to “smear the reputation” of the funds.
Mr Bowyer said that he had placed a correction notice above his Facebook post after a request to do so under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.
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Govt invokes fake news law for first time, asks opposition member Brad Bowyer to correct Facebook post on Temasek, GIC
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office has issued a correction direction to Progress Singapore Party member Brad Bowyer, in the first use of a law aimed at tackling fake news.
Initiated by Minister for Finance Heng Swee Keat, the direction requires Mr Bowyer to include a correction notice at the top of one of his Facebook posts, the Pofma Office said in a statement on Monday (Nov 25).
The Pofma Office was referring to a post by Mr Bowyer on Nov 13, in which he commented on issues including the Government's involvement in investment decisions by Temasek and GIC, and Keppel Corporation's finances.
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Govt invokes fake-news laws for the first time, opposition member directed to carry corrections on Facebook post
The Facebook post by Mr Brad Bowyer was found to contain misleading statements
The Government has directed opposition member Brad Bowyer to correct a Facebook post which it said peddled misleading and false statements about state investor Temasek Holdings and sovereign wealth fund GIC.
In a statement on Monday (Nov 25), the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office said Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat had instructed the office to issue a correction directive to Mr Bowyer in relation to a Facebook post on Nov 13.
The directive requires Mr Bowyer, a member of the Progress Singapore Party, to carry in full the correction notice at the top of his Facebook post. The notice links to a statement on the Government’s Factually website, which details all the things in Mr Bowyers’ post that are untrue or misleading, and the Government’s corrections and clarifications.
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POFMA Office directs Brad Bowyer to correct Facebook post in first use of 'fake news' law
Opposition party member Brad Bowyer has been directed to correct a Facebook post he made earlier this month that among other things questioned the independence of Temasek and GIC, in the first use of the "fake news" law in Singapore.
"The Minister for Finance has instructed POFMA Office to issue a Correction Direction to Mr Brad Bowyer with regard to his Facebook post on 13 November 2019, 7.46am," said the POFMA Office in a news release on Monday (Nov 25).
"The Correction Direction requires Mr Bowyer to carry in full, the correction notice at the top of his Facebook post," it said.
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Corrections and clarifications regarding falsehoods posted by Mr Brad Bowyer
Misleading and false statements were made by Brad Bowyer on Temasek and GIC
1. The Facebook post by Mr Brad Bowyer contains false statements of fact and misleading statements.
Falsehoods
I. Singapore Government’s involvement in investment decisions by Temasek and GIC
2. Mr Bowyer implies that the Singapore Government controls Temasek’s and GIC’s commercial decisions. This is false.
3. The Government does not influence, let alone direct, the individual investment decisions made by Temasek and GIC. Which companies they invest in, or divest from, is entirely the responsibility of their respective management teams. The Government likewise does not interfere in the commercial decisions of Temasek’s and GIC’s portfolio companies.
4. Temasek and GIC are run on market principles, independent of the Government. Many of their portfolio companies are publicly listed. The Government’s role is to ensure that Temasek and GIC have competent boards, which ensure that their respective mandates are met. The Government also holds the boards of Temasek and GIC accountable for their respective overall performances.
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Brad Bowyer 6 hrs
As many have asked for my detailed views or questioned my motives without actually reading either my original post of the factually assertion I am attaching here my notes on the “Corrections and clarifications regarding falsehoods posted by Mr Brad Bowyer” posting at the gov.sg site. I do encourage you to read both to draw your own views.
1. The Facebook post by Mr Brad Bowyer contains false statements of fact and misleading statements.
Falsehoods
I. Singapore Government’s involvement in investment decisions by Temasek and GIC
2. Mr Bowyer implies that the Singapore Government controls Temasek’s and GIC’s commercial decisions. This is false.
BPB. I do not assert this however I do suggest that they have a level of oversight. If this is not the case it would be a fair question to ask why the government does not have any oversight of Temasek or GIC as they invest public funds and have government members on their boards with the Prime Minister being the chairman of GIC and his wife as head of Temasek for example.
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Brad Bowyer 8 hrs
Today in response to a POFMA request I amended a post of mine from 13th November regarding Bharti Airtel, Salt Bae and various recent policy decisions with a correction notice which links to the government's position on statements I made in that post to their "factually" website.
I also had several media outlets reach out to me for my comment on the matter and my thoughts on POFMA in general even before I had a chance to make the correction so I thought it appropriate to issue my statement here.
I have no problem in following that request as I feel it is fair to have both points of view and clarifications and corrections of fact when necessary.
I do my best to use public facts and make informed statements of opinion based on the details I have access too.
I am not against being asked to make clarifications or corrections especially if it is in the public interest.
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Brad Bowyer 12 November at 15:46
CORRECTION NOTICE:
This post contains false statements of fact. For the correct facts, click here. www.gov.sg/…/clarifications-on-falsehoods-posted-by-mr-brad…
In my accountability speech at Hong Lim earlier in the year I mentiond Indian Telco Bharti Airtel and questions about GIC investing in it at a time when Singtel was upping its stake as the company hit cashflow issues and rating agencies had reclassified it as junk... And of course it recently got hit with a court ruling that it owes the Indian government over Sgd$17 billion in licence fees... Which financial media speculates could have a knock on effect of wiping 4 or 5% off Singtels share value.
Now we see the idiocy that was the Temasek investment in Salt Bae coming home to roost... This came to our attention in the middle of last year when somehow Temasek valued the restaurant chain at $1.2B when it made its investments. Now the debt ridden parent of the chain (and yes it was debt ridden when Temasek bought in to it) is struggling to convince anyone it is even worth $1B... So looks like a fair chunk of the $200m that Temasek put in will vaporize in less than a year.
Along with Bharti Airtel we also saw the recent canning of the Amaravati city project part of the S$4 billion already dumped into Andhra Pradesh by GLCs and related parties so India has not been so good an investment choice after all...
Salt Bae is a mess and a growing loss...
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Brad Bowyer urges citizens to use their “democratic rights”
“I’d like my country to evolve by evolution, not revolution"
On Thursday (5 December), political activist Brad Bowyer took to his Facebook to share his thoughts on how the People’s Action Party (PAP) is building more “legal walls to defend itself”.
In his post, Mr Bowyer who is currently a Progress Singapore Party member shared an article that was originally published in the Straits Times (ST) 7 years ago when he was still attached to PAP as a volunteer.
The ST article talked about why he got involved into politics and what he hoped to improve. “It gets to a point where you realise the world you live in is what you make of it. If you’ve got the ability to do something, you have a responsibility to do so.”
Brad Bowyer: Can the govt answer citizens’ questions without having to revert to POFMA
Singapore demographic data states that as of end 2018, we had 3,994,382 local residents.
Of which 3,471,936 were classified as citizens and 522,347 or just over 13% as permanent residents. That was out of a total population of 5,638,676.
To start with that made nearly 38.5% of our population foreign (it is worse now), one of the highest in the world – which on its own – brings with it many societal and cultural pressures, but today I wish to explore the question of Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET’s).
related: Teo Soh Lung: Who will be the next victim of POFMA?
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Singapore’s fake news law: protecting the truth, or restricting free debate?
In May, as Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s top ministers took turns in parliament to hammer home just why they thought the country needed a new law to fight “fake news” despite reservations from activists and academics, the opposition leader rose to dampen their parade.
Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh said his party would not back the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) over fears that it could be used as a “proverbial Damocles sword” against those who “do not support the government’s narrative or toe the government’s line”. Still, the law was easily passed because of the parliamentary supermajority held by Lee’s People’s Action Party (PAP) for decades.
K. Shanmugam, the home and law minister who vigorously campaigned to beat back local and international criticism of the law, said at the time that free speech proponents had little to worry about as Pofma only targeted “falsehoods”, “bots”, “trolls” and “fake accounts”.
related:
Singapore’s fake news law: a lesson to Asia in stifling dissent?
Spore’s opposition calls fake-news bill a ‘Damocles sword’ hanging over the public
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POFMA, a blank cheque for the government to defame?
Just last week, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) issued three correction orders under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), upon Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) over three online postings made by the party.
MOM claims that the posts and article from SDP contained “a misleading graphic and false statements of fact”. SDP is required to carry the correction notice at the top of both Facebook posts and the article on its website, which it has done. SDP has also followed the correction notice with a statement of its own saying that while it is complying with the order, the party will also be applying to cancel the correction direction.
The full correction by MOM is posted on the government’s fact-correction site ‘Factually’.
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Full Coverage:
Facebook Caught in Crossfire of Singapore’s ‘Fake News’ Law
Spore Gov Asks Facebook to Correct User's Post Under New Fake News Law
Blogger tests S'pore's fake news law by refusing to obey correction order
Blogger tests Spore Gov’s fake news law by rebuffing correction order
Blogger tests Singapore's fake news law by rebuffing correction order
Website editor defies order to correct Facebook post
Gov directs FB to run correction on STR post, after owner's non-compliance
STR editor refuses to obey correction order under fake news law
Singapore orders Facebook to comply with fake news law
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FB told to publish correction for STR's post after site's editor refuses to comply
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FB told to correct STR's post, Pofma Office investigating website's editor
Singapore tells Facebook to correct user’s post under new ‘fake news’ law
STR directed to correct Facebook post under online falsehoods law
POFMA Office issues correction notice to Facebook over STReview post
Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law
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Facebook posts corrected under Singapore 'fake news' law
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POFMA invoked 2nd time this week—STR to correct FB post about PAP
2nd correction order issued under POFMA, this time to Alex Tan of STR
Gov directs STR correct FB post containing falsehoods; 2nd order in 4 days
Fake news law: Correction notice issued to States Times Review
Singapore tells Facebook to correct user's post under new 'fake news' law
Fake news law invoked 2nd time in 4 days, STR directed to correct FB post
ST Review told to correct FB post under fake news law,refuses to comply
States Times Review directed to correct FB post under online falsehoods law
Fake news law: Correction notice issued to States Times Review
2nd correction order issued under POFMA to Alex Tan of States Times Review
Gov directs STR correct FB post containing falsehoods;2nd order in 4 days
Factually
Facebook posts corrected under Singapore 'fake news' law
Fake news law invoked for 2nd time in 4 days,STR directed to correct FB post
STR told to correct Facebook post under fake news law,refuses to comply
Singapore uses 'fake news' law against misinformation for first time
Singapore invokes 'fake news' law for first time over Facebook post
Singapore invokes 'fake news' law for first time
Singapore invokes ‘fake news’ law for first time over Facebook post
Singapore issues first correction order under 'fake news' law
Singapore uses law against misinformation for first time
Singapore invokes 'fake news' law for first time over Facebook post
Singapore invokes 'fake news' law for first time over Facebook post
Singapore uses law against misinformation | Article
Singapore invokes fake news law for first time over Facebook post
Fake news law used for 1st time over PSP member's FB post
POFMA directs Brad Bowyer to correct FB post in 1st use of 'fake news' law
Gov invokes fake news law for 1st time, opposition Brad Bowyer to correct FB
Factually
Gov invokes fake-news laws for 1st time,opposition member directed to correct
Brad Bowyer corrects FB post on Temasek & GIC after gov invokes fake news law
Correction order issued under POFMA for statements made by politician in FB
Brad Bowyer: "When questions arise just asserting something is false
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