The Committee to Protect Journalists said that authorities must cease using the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act to muzzle and discredit journalists.
This statement was originally published on cpj.org on 10 January 2025.
Singapore Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng and Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam should withdraw threats of legal action against media outlets over their public interest reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
“The threats of legal action by Singapore ministers against media outlets, as well as the government’s recent order to ‘correct’ reporting, severely undermine press freedom in the country,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna. “Singapore authorities must cease using the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act to muzzle and discredit journalists.”
Tan and Shanmugam said in December 15 Facebook posts that they would pursue legal action against Bloomberg over a December 11 article alleging lack of transparency surrounding the purchase of multimillion dollar houses in Singapore. The ministers stated that they intend to take “similar action against others who have published libelous statements about those transactions.”
On December 23, the Singapore government ordered Bloomberg and three other media outlets, which also published the allegations, to issue public “corrections” under its “fake news” law, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.
The outlets include news websites:
- The Edge Singapore, which republished Bloomberg’s article.
- The Independent Singapore, which cited Bloomberg’s reporting in a December 12 article
- The Online Citizen, which cited Bloomberg’s reporting in a December 12 article
The Edge Singapore and The Independent Singapore removed their respective posts. The four media outlets complied with issuing corrections, but Bloomberg and The Online Citizen, whose articles remained accessible as of January 10, additionally said that they stood by their reporting.
CPJ has condemned the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act’s provision of broad and arbitrary powers for government ministers to demand corrections from media outlets and remove online content.
Tan and Shanmugam’s offices did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emails requesting comment.
