Singapore Government Eyes New Laws to Combat Fake News

[TaiShang]

Singapore Government Eyes New Laws to Combat Fake News

00:53 20.06.2017

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

FAKE NEWS CNN

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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.

"We will consult with the stakeholders, the media, the legal profession, [and] of course the internet companies [throughout this year], we will work with them, and see what the contours or shape of the legislation ought to be," Shanmugam said, according to Nikkei.com.

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.

Singapore has had its own share of fake news scandals, such as in 2015, when someone spread a false rumor that the country's authorities had conducted cloud seeding not to curb fires in nearby Indonesia, but to help alleviate the smog ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix. The message also included a fake warning for the residents to expect "chemically induced rain showers."

© SPUTNIK/ VLADIMIR PESNYA
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Shanmugam said Singapore will study the experiences of other nations, in particular that of Germany which, following the 2016 US presidential elections, also seeks to introduce measures to prevent the mass spread of misinformation ahead of its own electoral season.

Chancellor Angela Merkel is hoping to force social media companies to remove fake news stories as fast as within 24 hours or else face penalties. The move is opposed by both the tech companies, for whom the new rules would impose significant responsibilities on moderator staff, and by advocates of free speech, who say the new rules will eventually lead to censorship.

With such debates in mind, Shanmugam said it is crucial to perfect the mechanism to determine what news report are fake, and to differentiate cases where people repost fake news involuntarily from those in which false stories are disseminated deliberately. In the latter case, those responsible should face legal action, the minister believes.

"But that does not apply to news which is erroneous, inadvertently put out. We are talking about fake news where people intentionally put it out and it has an impact on society," he explained.

According to a survey conducted by the ministry that polled 1,600 Singaporeans aged 15 and above, 91 percent of the population supports stronger laws against the spread of fake news. More than three quarters of respondents reported they had encountered fake news at least once.

https://sputniknews.com/asia/201706201054782410-singapore-fake-news-law/

 

[Mista]

Spread of falsehoods ‘more serious now’ because of online, social media: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — While falsehoods and misinformation have been around since time immemorial, the problem is “much more serious now than ever before” because of online and social media, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam yesterday.

“Today, you have echo chambers. People don’t need the media, everyone is an expert in whatever they wish because they can just look up the Internet and believe whatever they find,” he said during a forum on truth and trust in the media.

As a result, the public’s trust in traditional institutions of authority such as the bar, political leadership, subject experts and religious institutions has been undermined, he added.

People share pieces of information that support their underlying beliefs, said Mr Shanmugam. He noted how falsehoods were shared widely online during the American presidential election last November and the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom earlier last year to “fuel xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiments”.

“People talk among themselves with people of like-minded views and reinforce their biases,” he said, adding that the raft of social-media platforms allows misinformation to be amplified many times over.

Perpetrators of fake news today can hide behind anonymity or fake identities, making it difficult to tackle.

Quoting a deputy editor of The Economist, Mr Shanmugam said: “Conventional newspapers no longer keep fake news in check, because they are operating in a different environment ... This is the ‘post-truth’ world, where flimsy, ludicrous misinformation — absolute rubbish — can be believed by millions of people.”

Such outright lies can de-legitimise leaders, divide society and endanger lives, he said, citing the rumour that former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and fellow leaders from the United States Democratic Party were operating a paedophile ring out of a pizza restaurant in Washington DC.

The accusation was “pure conspiracy-mongering” but had fed off people’s fears and biases, which resulted in someone opening fire at the restaurant and its staff receiving serious threats.

Closer to home, online rumours have fanned anti-Chinese sentiments. For instance, one claimed that China was using “biological weapons” to target Indonesia’s agricultural sectors, while another alleged that a free HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine programme was part of a Chinese conspiracy to make Indonesian women infertile, he recalled.

Misinformation is an “easy and effective way” to advance a wide range of agendas, said Mr Shanmugam.

It has been wielded by some countries as a “legitimate tactic” against others, he said, citing Russia, where a Soviet-sponsored newspaper had claimed in the 1980s that the US created the Aids virus as a weapon.

Fake news is also used to spread hate and often to provoke divisions between Muslims and non-Muslims. Hate breeds terrorism, and extremists have, in turn, used misinformation to spread hate for their own ends, Mr Shanmugam said.

The desire for profit is another agenda that drives misinformation, he said, noting how former owners of the now-defunct sociopolitical blog The Real Singapore had raked in more than S$500,000 in advertising earnings by fabricating articles that went viral online.

As long as these agendas exist, misinformation will be a problem that prevails, Mr Shanmugam said. KELLY NG

http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/spread-falsehoods-more-serious-now-because-online-social-media

everyone is an expert in whatever they wish because they can just look up the Internet and believe whatever they find

Sounds like PDF.

 

[Beast]

China is correct in the first place. Now US and Singapore have prove China correct in controlling flow of media

Freedom of speech and media have been badly abused. Now its time to clean up.

 

[Viva_Viet]

China is correct in the first place. Now US and Singapore have prove China correct in controlling flow of media

Freedom of speech and media have been badly abused. Now its time to clean up.

Every Goverments in the world making fake news. U think CN and SIng make No fake news ??

The different in US that they admitted CNN making fake news

 

[Beast]

Every Goverments in the world making fake news. U think CN and SIng make No fake news ??

The different in US that they admitted CNN making fake news

US never admits it, get your facts, right. US will always give excuse when exposed of spreading false news. At least China is not a double head serpent that call for freedom of speech and media while US tells other to do one thing, behind they will do it another way round. It is called hypocrisy. China is far more straight and righteous.

The info release by China is far more accurate than anything by the slandering western media. That include western media poisoning about Vietnam too.

 

[Mista]

It's more like ridiculous fake news in the social media written by random individuals without providing any evidence to propagate hatred, racism and blind nationalism. People with biases will just believe in it without validating it and spread the rumours further.

Such as this.

citing the rumour that former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and fellow leaders from the United States Democratic Party were operating a paedophile ring out of a pizza restaurant in Washington DC.

The accusation was “pure conspiracy-mongering” but had fed off people’s fears and biases, which resulted in someone opening fire at the restaurant and its staff receiving serious threats.

Closer to home, online rumours have fanned anti-Chinese sentiments. For instance, one claimed that China was using “biological weapons” to target Indonesia’s agricultural sectors, while another alleged that a free HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine programme was part of a Chinese conspiracy to make Indonesian women infertile, he recalled

or this.

For instance, there was a video of Muslims celebrating a Pakistani cricket match victory put up online, and it was misconstrued as a celebration of the 2015 terror attacks in Paris. It was viewed 500,000 times in two hours.

Mr Shanmugam said: "It was a perfect marriage of emotions and somebody exploiting those emotions to stoke anti-Muslim, Islamophobic feelings."

Brexit might have turned out differently without all the fake news and fake numbers floating around during the campaign. After all, only 51% voted for Brexit. Could have gone differently and British politics wouldn't be in such a mess today.

 

[Viva_Viet]

US never admits it, get your facts, right. US will always give excuse when exposed of spreading false news. At least China is not a double head serpent that call for freedom of speech and media while US tells other to do one thing, behind they will do it another way round. It is called hypocrisy. China is far more straight and righteous.

The info release by China is far more accurate than anything by the slandering western media. That include western media poisoning about Vietnam too.

VN media is quite Open, we can use Facebook. check news on BBC etc..we simply dont care if FB,BBC or VN state media making fake news. We only trust in our own calculation and logic.

WHy Cnese , Sing pple care too much abt fake news ?? Cos you guys can not find out by logic what is true and what is fake ??

 

[Beast]

VN media is quite Open, we can use Facebook. check news on BBC etc..we simply dont care if FB,BBC or VN state media making fake news. We only trust in our own calculation and logic.

WHy Cnese , Sing pple care too much abt fake news ?? Cos you guys can not find out by logic what is true and what is fake ??

Stop trying to fool the rest and think Vietnam has a more free press than China. Your facebook and many access are still tightly control by state. Vietnam communist will still be communist. Trying to say Vietnam has a more free press than China is simply a joke. China and Vietnam are in the same boat.

https://www.ft.com/content/853db6f2-0ae1-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b

 

[Viva_Viet]

Stop trying to fool the rest and think Vietnam has a more free press than China. Your facebook and many access are still tightly control by state. Vietnam communist will still be communist. Trying to say Vietnam has a more free press than China is simply a joke. China and Vietnam are in the same boat.

https://www.ft.com/content/853db6f2-0ae1-11e7-97d1-5e720a26771b

We can use FB, we can read news from BBC when Cnese can not, thats true.

4 Hours ago,BBC news just said thats "based on DWNews on 07, Jun , 2 Vnese fishing boats messing around Cnese oil rig "

Đặc biệt, không lâu trước chuyến thăm Việt Nam của Tướng Phạm Trường Long, một số trang mạng tiếng Trung như DWNews đăng tin nói" "các thuyền cá của Việt Nam liên tiếp quấy nhiễu quá trình hạ đặt giàn khoan" của họ.

http://www.bbc.com/vietnamese/vietnam-40334599

 

[Beast]

We can use FB, we can read news from BBC when Cnese can not, thats true.

4 Hours ago,BBC news just said thats "based on DWNews , 2 Vnese fishing boats meeing around Cnese oil rig "

http://www.bbc.com/vietnamese/vietnam-40334599

So? It does not prove anything? Vietnam media is still tightly control and you simply cannot post anything or say anything in state site or media without getting into trouble.

Vietnam is not a major target for manipulation by western due to needing Vietnam's assist in their anti-China campaign. That is why Western will not rubbish so much on Vietnam and Vietnam communist party to know about the amount of anti-China rubbish on fb and western media and part of the reason you still can access.

But try used fb to spread anti-VPC nonsense and see what happen to you.

 

[Viva_Viet]

So? It does not prove anything? Vietnam media is still tightly control and you simply cannot post anything or say anything in state site or media without getting into trouble.

Vietnam is not a major target for manipulation by western due to needing Vietnam's assist in their anti-China campaign. That is why Western will not rubbish so much on Vietnam and Vietnam communist party to know about the amount of anti-China rubbish on fb and western media and part of the reason you still can access.

But try used fb to spread anti-VPC nonsense and see what happen to you.

We r talking about "controlling fake news", and u guys always try to convince yourselves that "fake news" only come from Western media and CN, Sing dont make fake news.

Thats stupid idea, coz all Governments make fake news. Just bcs u guys r not smart enough to realize what is fake, what is true

 

[Beast]

We r talking about "controlling fake news", and u guys always try to convince yourselves that "fake news" only come from Western media and CN, Sing dont make fake news.

Thats stupid idea, coz all Governments make fake news. Just bcs u guys r not smart enough to realize what is fake, what is true

As if vietnamese has a lot of smart people. I guess many Vietnamese are not smart too since of the riot that nearly destroy Vietnam economy few years ago including burning down of Singapore factories and Taiwanese investment...

 

[Azeem_Ahmed]

Pakistan has already this law in the form of PEMRA... it is something else that law is used only to suppress the opponent... yes