Singapore Orders Meta To Alert Users To False Statements On Death Penalty

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz

SINGAPORE, Nov 5 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s Home Ministry (MHA) has instructed Meta Platforms Inc be issued Targeted Correction Directions (TCDs) following the reposting of false statements on its platforms regarding the scheduling of executions and the prosecution of drug trafficking charges in the country.

The ministry said it has instructed Office of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) to issue the TCDs, which require Meta to alert users who have seen the repeat posts that they contain false statements.

“The TCDs also require users be provided with a link to the government’s clarification at https://www.gov.sg/article/factually051024,” it said in a statement Tuesday.

The ministry added that the clarification outlines the falsehoods and facts for the public to review, without requiring the original posts to be removed.

“Readers can view both the original posts and the facts, and decide for themselves what the truth is,” it said.

The TCDs relate to 10 Facebook and 30 Instagram posts made by individuals on Oct 23 and 24, which re-shared false statements made by the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), a group advocating for the abolition of the death penalty in Singapore.

The original post by TJC was issued a Correction Direction on Oct 5, which required the group to insert a correction notice on the posts, stating that they contained false statements.

The ministry said TJC complied with the Correction Direction by Oct 6.

“By reposting the TJC posts on Oct 23 and 24, these individuals chose to communicate falsehoods that they knew, or should have known, were false,” the ministry said.

-- BERNAMA