S’pore orders social media sites to block 95 accounts in first such use of foreign interference law
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The accounts are linked to Guo Wengui – a self-exiled Chinese businessman, Chinese Communist Party critic and convicted fraudster.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM FACEBOOK
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SINGAPORE – Five social media platforms have been directed by the authorities to block a network of 95 accounts that published coordinated posts spreading allegations that Singapore is being controlled by China.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on July 19 said there are grounds to believe that the network of accounts can and may be used to mount hostile information campaigns that are directly targeted at Singapore.
The posts by the accounts, which are linked to Guo Wengui – a self-exiled Chinese businessman
MHA said it has directed Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and X, formerly known as Twitter, to block these accounts from Singapore-based users under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica)
Between April 17 and May 10, the accounts published more than 120 posts containing videos on Singapore’s leadership transition, the ministry noted.
The Prime Minister’s Office had announced on April 15 that then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong would take over as prime minister on May 15
The posts, seen by The Straits Times, include statements like “Singapore is in the CCP’s back pocket”, accompanied by videos of Guo speaking in Mandarin or occasionally using automated voice-overs in English. CCP is another abbreviation for the CPC.
MHA said it had detected the network of accounts through its regular monitoring.
Of the 95 accounts, 92 were directly linked to Guo and organisations affiliated to him – the New Federal State of China and the Himalaya Supervisory Organisation. The remaining three belong to a Singapore chapter of the Himalaya Supervisory Organisation known as Himalaya Singapore, MHA said.
There is so far no evidence that any of the 95 accounts are operated by Singaporeans, MHA added.
The posts were accompanied by videos of Guo Wengui speaking in Mandarin or occasionally using automated voiceovers in English.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM FACEBOOK
The ministry said Guo’s network has posted other narratives related to Singapore.
“The network’s coordinated actions and precedence of using Singapore to push its agenda have demonstrated its willingness and capability to spread false narratives that are detrimental to Singapore’s interests,” MHA said.
“The timing of the coordinated posts, which coincided with the period of Singapore’s political leadership transition, is indicative of deliberate planning and actions,” it added.
Other than allegations on Singapore’s political leadership, these accounts make other claims, including that the Chinese government hides money in the Republic.
Singapore Management University associate professor of law Eugene Tan said it is important to recognise that these 95 accounts could have been weaponised in the future.
He said: “Some people might say that this is overkill because we are not the direct target of this hostile information campaign. The posts are very much about Mr Guo’s agenda against the CCP.
“But I think when you consider the fact that Mr Guo, or whoever controls these accounts, was prepared to use Singapore in a very cynical and strategic measure, I think the pre-emptive move, to my mind, is an appropriate response.”
Dr Shashi Jayakumar, founder and executive director of geopolitical risk consultancy SJKGeostrategic Advisory, said the lack of the impact of the network now does not mean that it would not have an effect later, adding that such a network could ramp up its activities in the future to focus more directly on Singapore.
“And it could potentially do so with more finesse, attempting possibly to deceive the ground and also investigators,” he added.
“This itself could influence hearts and minds in Singapore, and potentially interfere in the democratic process in a manner I would consider coercive, particularly if any such ramping up were to take place at or near sensitive periods, such as elections.”
Mr Benjamin Ang, senior fellow and head of the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said Fica was likely invoked in this instance due to a combination of factors.
These include the number of accounts that were involved, the kind of comments made about Singapore that could affect Singapore society, and the fact that the foreign entity was said to have had disseminated disinformation in other countries.
Mr Ang added: “I don’t expect the Fica action alone to totally stop this foreign entity because the Internet is porous and Singaporeans are highly connected, so we also need to exercise more critical thinking. What this action can do is make it harder for this foreign entity to manipulate our general public, and send a clear signal that this type of coordinated outside interference is not acceptable.”
However, Prof Tan said the account restriction directions alone may not completely deter future hostile information campaigns. He said: “Someone like Mr Guo is not going to be deterred by this. But we need to protect the home ground... We just want to make such content not so easily available.”
Addressing potential comments that the latest use of Fica could be construed as Singapore doing the bidding of the Chinese government, Prof Tan said that by looking at the calibrated and targeted nature of the countermeasures it is clear that they serve Singapore’s interest.
“There is no attempt to get the social media platforms to take down the posts. It is really just a case of preventing these accounts from being weaponised in the future, by directing them to restrict access from Singapore.
“If I were the CCP I would want more severe actions to be taken.”
Guo, a one-time real estate mogul, had fled to the United States in 2014 and gained a following as a Chinese government critic and whistle-blower.
He is facing decades in prison after being convicted in the US on July 17
The money, which he claimed would be used in a series of ventures, including his “citizen journalism” media company, an elite membership service and a new cryptocurrency, was instead used to fund a lavish lifestyle
Guo also has links to prominent right-wing personalities in the US, including media executive Steve Bannon, who was for a time former president Donald Trump’s White House chief strategist.
Based on a 2021 study by social media analytics firm Graphika, Guo is at the centre of a vast network of interrelated media entities and social media accounts that disseminate disinformation on multiple platforms, MHA said.
Graphika’s report, titled Ants In A Web, said Guo’s network of thousands of accounts has become increasingly influential but defies traditional characterisation as either a media organisation or an influence operation, instead being an ever-evolving constellation of personalities and entities that revolve around him.
Its content includes anti-Chinese government and health misinformation posts, as well as harassment campaigns targeted at Chinese dissidents and other perceived enemies, the report said.
The directions issued by MHA are the first use of Singapore’s counter-interference law, Fica, to direct social media providers to block accounts that could be used for hostile information campaigns.
The law, which Parliament passed in 2021 Philip Chan Man Ping
