Meta and X served targeted POFMA order after activist’s non-compliance

SINGAPORE: Two social media platforms have been served with targeted correction directions under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) on Friday (11 October), after activist Kokila Annamalai failed to comply with a correction order issued to her last week. Ms Annamalai received the order on 5 October for misleading posts made on Facebook and X. In a statement, The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said the posts falsely claimed that “the government schedules and stays executions arbitrarily and without regard for due legal process, and that the State does not bear the legal burden of proving a drug trafficking charge against the accused person.” MHA noted that an article on the government fact-checking website Factually elaborated on why Ms Annamalai's assertions were false. The order mandated that she post a correction notice on the two posts; however, she has not complied. In light of this non-compliance, the Minister for Home Affairs has directed the POFMA Office to issue a targeted correction direction to Meta Platforms and X. This order requires the platforms to notify users who have seen the posts that they contain false statements and to provide a link to the Factually article explaining the inaccuracies. MHA also announced that it would refer Ms Annamalai to the POFMA Office for investigations regarding her failure to comply with the correction direction issued on 5 October. Earlier, the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), an organisation advocating for the abolition of the death penalty in the Asia-Pacific region, was also served with a correction order by the Singapore government under POFMA. This order, initiated by Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam, was in response to alleged false claims made by ADPAN in social media posts on 3 October 2024. The posts, which were circulated on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, related to Singapore’s legal processes for death row prisoners and the treatment of activists opposing the death penalty. They were released just before the scheduled execution of Mohammad Azwan Bohari, a drug trafficking convict sentenced to death for possessing over 26.5 grammes of pure heroin. While ADPAN has since complied with the correction order by adding a notice to the original posts across its social media accounts, the group has expressed its intention to engage further with the order. ADPAN reiterated its commitment to its statements and opinions, which it asserts are protected by international human rights law and standards, and expressed solidarity with human rights defenders and groups on the ground. The organisation also reserved the right to issue additional statements on the matter.