‘Where were the local fact-checkers?' — WP leaders call out FB page that spread falsehood during GE
SINGAPORE: Earlier this week, Workers' Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh took issue with a particular Facebook post from a page linked to another that had been fact-checked in the lead-up to the May 3 polls.
Mr Singh wrote on May 18 (Sunday) that he had done a double-take upon seeing a post that day from the SG Matters Facebook page that dealt with national interest and foreign policy.
The WP chief explained how Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee, and S Rajaratnam, widely considered to be among the 'brightest foreign policy minds in Singapore,' did not have the same opinion concerning Israel.
He ended his post by writing, 'For some positions are worth standing up for, while an overly ritualistic resort to pragmatism may operate to dilute the resilience, commitment and unity of those who stand up for what is (morally) right.'
Mr Singh noted that the post from SG Matters did not contain falsehoods, a previous one from its sister site, Singapore Matters, did. He wrote that it had been the only local site 'singled out by the international media for peddling falsehoods' during the last GE and asked, 'Where were the local fact-checkers?' See also Asia cracks down on virus 'fake news'
This was in reference to AFP fact-checking Singapore Matters for mischaracterising statements from WP candidate Alia Mattar.
'At no point does she say the conflict is 'more important' than local Singapore issues. AFP could find no other evidence of such a statement from Siti Alia,' AFP wrote on May 5.
Singapore Matters has long held unapologetically pro-government views. The question is whether it, as well as other social media pages, are being legitimised when high-profile or influential individuals share posts from these pages .
On Wednesday (May 21), Jackson Au, who had also been part of the WP slate at Punggol Group Representation Constituency (GRC), called out the Singapore Matters Facebook page, which had issued 'A Note of Clarification and Accountability' the day before, 15 days after the AFP published its fact check.
Mr Au wrote, 'I want to focus on a related issue: the (so far) conspicuous lack of scrutiny from our so-called mainstream media and regulators.'
He summarised Singapore Matters' note as 'sorry, not sorry,' adding, 'This response stands in stark contrast to the swift and decisive correction orders we've seen meted out to other online platforms or opposition politicians for their transgressions.'
He also pointed out that the falsehoods about Ms Mattar's remarks had been posted right before Cooling-Off Day, which means that the candidate had no chance to respond or defend herself.
Mr Au added, 'In my view, this instance of disinformation may have fallen afoul of the Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) (Amendment) Bill, or ELIONA, first passed in October 2024. If indeed it is, then it should be a major news story in its own right, and warrant further investigation by our media and electoral authorities.'
He expressed disappointment that in spite of the AFP fact-check and the post having been flagged by Facebook's parent company Meta, 'not a single voice from the mainstream media or any government regulators has publicly addressed this digitally manipulated content, nor used this episode to raise awareness about the dangers of targeted disinformation under ELIONA.
No one has sought to speak truth to power and call this out for what it is: fake news,' added Mr Au. /TISG
Read also: Ho Ching shares post defending Chan Chun Sing
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