S’pore orders social media sites to block 95 accounts, in first such use of foreign interference law

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 which are directly targeted at Singapore.

The posts by the accounts, which are linked to Guo Wengui – a self-exiled Chinese businessman, Communist Party of China (CPC) critic and convicted fraudster – also allege that China was involved in the selection of Singapore’s fourth generation leader.

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 2024, 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 voiceovers 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 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.

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 on July 17 in the US of defrauding his online followers of over US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion).

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, including a US$37 million yacht.

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, was first invoked in February 2024 to designate businessman Philip Chan Man Ping, 59, as a politically significant person. He had been assessed to be susceptible to being influenced by foreign actors and willing to advance their interests.

How was Singapore’s foreign interference law used against a potential hostile information campaign?: ST explains

Singapore invoked its foreign interference law on July 19 to require five social media platforms to block 95 accounts from being accessible to users here.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said these 95 accounts – linked to exiled Chinese businessman and recently convicted fraudster Guo Wengui – could potentially be used to launch hostile information campaigns targeted directly at Singapore.

In the run-up to Mr Lawrence Wong taking over as prime minister on May 15, 92 of these accounts had published posts in a coordinated manner, alleging that Singapore is in the pocket of a foreign actor that had a part to play in the selection of the Republic’s fourth-generation leader, MHA said.

The directions to restrict these accounts mark the first time the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (Fica) has been used to counter potential hostile information campaigns. The Straits Times breaks down how the law works.

1. What are hostile information campaigns?

Fica was passed in Parliament in October 2021 to strengthen the Government’s ability to prevent, detect and disrupt foreign interference in Singapore’s domestic politics conducted through hostile information campaigns and the use of local proxies.

The provisions in the Act to counter hostile information campaigns took effect on July 7, 2022.

MHA said social media platforms have contributed to the increasing ease, sophistication and impunity with which foreign actors are able to carry out such campaigns. 

Hostile foreign actors can deploy a sophisticated range of tools and tactics to interfere in domestic political discourse, incite social tensions and undermine Singapore’s sovereignty, the ministry added.

These include creating and using fake accounts to mislead users about their identity and credibility, and using bots on social media platforms or taking out advertisements to artificially boost the reach of these messages.

MHA said that as an open, highly digitally connected and diverse society, Singapore is especially vulnerable to foreign interference.

It cited an example from 2018, when Singapore faced bilateral issues with another country, noting that there was an abnormal spike in online comments which were critical of Singapore on social media.

“These posts, made by anonymous accounts, sought to create an artificial impression of opposition to Singapore’s positions,” it added.

2. How is Fica used to counter hostile information campaigns?

The law gives the minister for home affairs powers to issue technical assistance directions that require parties to disclose information to the authorities to investigate if there is an ongoing hostile information campaign, and whether the content originates from a foreign source.

The minister can also authorise directions to deal with content or accounts that are part of a hostile information campaign. These directions include:

• A stop communication (end-user) direction, which requires the communicator to cease communication of specific hostile information campaign content to viewers in Singapore.
• A disabling direction, which requires social media or relevant electronic services to stop the communication of such content in Singapore.
• A must-carry direction, which requires various parties to carry a mandatory message from the Government in a conspicuous and timely manner to warn Singaporeans about an ongoing hostile information campaign.
• An account restriction direction, which is issued to block content in social media or relevant electronic service user accounts from being viewed in Singapore if there is reason to believe that these accounts are being used or being set up with the intent of being used for hostile information campaigns. This direction was issued to block the 95 accounts.
• An access blocking direction, which may be issued to block access to content if service providers or communicators fail to comply with Fica directions.

Those issued with directions under Fica can apply to the minister for home affairs for reconsideration, before appealing to a reviewing tribunal for the direction to be varied or cancelled.

3. How was Fica used in this case?

MHA’s investigations found that 92 of the 95 accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok are part of a network linked to Guo and his affiliated organisations – the New Federal State of China and the Himalaya Supervisory Organisation.

The other three accounts belong to a Singapore chapter of the Himalaya Supervisory Organisation.

The ministry said that the timing of the coordinated posts, which coincided with the period of Singapore’s political leadership transition, is indicative of deliberate planning and actions.

“There are grounds, therefore, to believe that (Guo’s) network can and may potentially harness the 95 accounts to mount hostile information campaigns which are targeted directly at Singapore,” said MHA.

While this is the first time Fica is used to target hostile information campaigns, it has been invoked on previous occasions.

Businessman Philip Chan Man Ping, a naturalised Singapore citizen, was designated as a politically significant person in February 2024. The authorities assessed that he had shown susceptibility to being influenced by foreign actors and willingness to advance their interests.

On July 11, the MHA said it intends to designate the National Trades Union Congress as a politically significant person, given its close nexus and symbiotic relationship with the People’s Action Party.

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

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