Online platforms comply with Pofma direction over 'S'pore variant' claims
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Facebook, Twitter and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) said yesterday that they had complied with a correction direction under Singapore's fake news law and put up notices on their platforms for their users in Singapore.
This was after the Ministry of Health (MOH) invoked the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) in response to a statement circulating online claiming that there is a new variant of Covid-19 which originated in the Republic.
The false statements originated from a tweet by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday calling on India's government to cancel flights from Singapore.
He claimed that a "new form of corona" from the Republic could cause a third wave of infections in India.
His remarks were carried by several news outlets in India, including the Hindustan Times and broadcaster NDTV, and were also shared on social media and online platforms in Singapore.
Singapore's Health Minister Ong Ye Kung instructed the Pofma Office to issue a correction direction to Facebook, Twitter and the HardwareZone forum owned by SPH Magazines, MOH said in a media release early yesterday morning.
"The Ministry of Health is aware of a false statement circulating online by multiple media outlets and social media platforms, which implies that a new, previously unknown variant of Covid-19 originated in Singapore and/or risks spreading to India from Singapore," the ministry said.
It added that there is no new Singapore variant of Covid-19 and that there is also no evidence of any Covid-19 variant that is "extremely dangerous for kids".
"The strain that is prevalent in many of the Covid-19 cases detected in Singapore in recent weeks is the B16172 variant, which originated in India," it said.
A Facebook spokesman told The Straits Times: "We have carefully reviewed the direction and are legally compelled to issue a correction notice from the Singapore Government to all people using Facebook in Singapore."
Twitter said that the Pofma correction will be carried as a notification that includes a tweet from the Singapore Government stating that it is legally required.
A spokesman for Twitter said: "In line with our values around openness, transparency and trust, this request will be reflected in Singapore's section of the Twitter Transparency Report, which we publish twice yearly."
SPH said a notice was put up in the HardwareZone forum by 1.20am yesterday.
