Media

Yesterday (13 Oct), Straits Times Opinion Editor Chua Mui Hoong wrote an opinion piece on ST warning 4G leaders from the People’s Action Party (PAP) not to go overboard and become perceived not as the dominant force leading the country, but as the domineering party ready and willing to thumb down its critics (‘PAP and the politics of dominance‘). “I …

The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) will take effect starting Wed (2 Oct), five months after Parliament had passed the legislation in May, according to the Government Gazette on Tue (1 Oct). The notice reiterates that the Info-communications Media Development Authority has been appointed as the “Competent Authority” under the Act by the Minister for Communications and …

Professor Cherian George, a prominent professor of Media Studies and former member of the Media Literacy Council, took to his Twitter on Friday (27 September) to criticise the Straits Times (ST) for standing behind the government in attacking independent journalists in Singapore. “The Straits Times is supporting the #Singapore government’s attack on independent journalists, not for lack of professional ability …

At the Real News Matters journalism forum held at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central last Saturday (28 Sep), Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) Chief Editor Warren Fernandez told the audience that journalists play a critical role amid a proliferation of fake news and views existing today. With misinformation on the rise, journalists play a crucial role in providing …

Facebook on Thursday introduced strict criteria for political ads on the social network in Singapore to prevent the spread of misinformation as the city-state gears up for elections. Faced with criticism the site has been used to manipulate polls, Facebook has been tightening rules on such adverts around the world, from the United States to India. Those advertising in Singapore …

As print media publishers and distributors from all over the world gathered in Berlin, from 22nd till 25th September, for the annual Distripress congress, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its latest report, entitled “Newspapers that never arrive,” which sheds light on how governments, state institutions, powerful oligarchs, and corporations obstruct print media distribution. Instead of silencing journalists or preventing them …

On 19 September (Thursday), TOC published an article stating that the Chief Fintech Officer of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, has been appointed as the “well-known development strategist and financial expert” for the Indian state government of Odisha. This news came to light after Times of India reported it, and added that Mr Mohanty will enjoy the …

In light of the “viral”, instantaneous sharing culture on social media where visual evidence of incidents or events can be shared in a single tap, individuals may be treading on thin ice in relation to the Official Secrets Act (OSA). The Straits Times on last Fri (13 Sep) cautioned members of the public against “violating the OSA, accidentally or otherwise” …

Photographs of a book by the Media Literacy Council (MLC) listing satire as fake news were posted by user ongcs on discussion website Reddit on Tue (17 Sep). The book, they explained, was given to Primary One students in their son’s school. “A book about fake news that my P1 boy received from school today,” ongcs wrote in the title …

Three days after posting an infographic listing satire as one of the forms in which fake news can be propagated, the Media Literacy Council (MLC) received further backlash for its apology, in which the Council assured that it did not intend to give “the wrong impression” that satire was fake news. MLC said in a Facebook post on Sun (8 …