Pofma order issued over 40 social media posts on drug trafficking, executions in Singapore

Targeted correction directions under Singapore’s fake news law have been issued to tech giant Meta after several individuals reposted falsehoods on drug trafficking and executions on its platforms.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Nov 5 it was aware of 10 Facebook and 30 Instagram posts containing the false statements made by the Transformative Justice Collective (TJC), an activist group urging the abolition of the death penalty.

MHA did not name the individuals who reposted the falsehoods on Oct 23 and Oct 24.

The TJC posts contained false statements relating to the scheduling of executions in Singapore and the prosecution of drug trafficking charges, said the ministry.

TJC was required to insert a correction notice under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) about its posts, stating that they contained false statements. It complied by Oct 6.

Referring to the 40 reposts, MHA said: “By reposting the TJC posts, those individuals had chosen to communicate falsehoods that they knew or should have known contained false statements.”

MHA hence instructed the Pofma Office to issue targeted correction directions to Meta Platforms, requiring the tech firm to alert users who have seen the reposts that they contain false statements. 

Users must be provided with the link to the Government’s clarification, titled “Corrections regarding false statements concerning legal processes for prisoners awaiting capital punishment and the prosecution of drug trafficking charges.”

The clarification sets out the falsehoods and facts for the public to examine, without requiring the original posts to be removed, said MHA.

“Readers can read both the original posts and the facts, and decide for themselves what is the truth,” it added.

This comes after anti-death penalty activist Kokila Annamalai, 36, was referred to the Pofma Office for investigation for defying an order to carry a correction notice in her social media posts about the legal processes for death row inmates.

MHA said on Oct 31 that Ms Kokila chose not to comply with the correction direction issued on Oct 5 despite repeated reminders.

She also did not challenge the correction order in court, even though she is entitled to do so if she believes she did not put out any falsehoods.

Under Pofma, individuals found guilty of failing to comply with a correction direction without a reasonable excuse can be fined up to $20,000, jailed for up to a year, or both. Individuals convicted of communicating a false statement of fact can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to five years, or both.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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