Singapore Uses Fake News Law on Opposition Leader, TikTok

Low De Wei
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s government has deployed a fake news law against a prominent opposition politician for his comments about public housing policies, the latest use of the contentious legislation that has been used recently against similar figures.

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Chee Soon Juan, the Secretary-General of the Singapore Democratic Party, will be required to correct a video he posted on social media, which the Ministry of National Development said “contains false and misleading statements,” regarding public housing, according to a statement on Thursday.

TikTok Pte. will also have to communicate a correction notice to all end-users in Singapore that had accessed a post on the platform by Chee on the topic, the statement said.

SDP said it will comply with the government’s order as instructed. “However, we reject the interpretation presented in the POFMA notice, and are exploring our options as we take steps to mount a legal challenge to the government’s stance,” a party spokesperson said in response to Bloomberg queries.

Read More: Singapore Prime Minister Defends Fake News Law Amid Criticism

The law has been wielded by authorities in the city-state against other figures since it was passed in 2019, including in recent weeks against opposition lawmaker and chief of the Progress Singapore Party Leong Mun Wai and secretary-general of the opposition Reform Party Kenneth Jeyaretnam.

(Adds a comment from the Singapore Democratic Party.)

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