This archive report was first published on 30 November 2019.
On November 30, 2019, Singapore's government ordered Facebook to correct a post promoting an article on a fringe news site containing 'scurrilous accusations' of election rigging, ramping up their use of a controversial law against misinformation.
The law gives ministers powers to tell platforms to put warnings next to posts they deem false, but that activists fear could be used to curb free speech.
A post by Alex Tan, who runs the anti-government website the States Times Review, had a correction notice placed below it after a government request, Facebook confirmed.
However, Tan refused to comply, citing his status as an Australian citizen and claiming that he would not be bound by requests from a 'foreign government'.
Despite this, Facebook said it had complied with the government's order, adding a label to the post stating that the Singapore government says it contains false information.
The label also includes a link to the government's own fact-checking website, which claims that Tan's article contained 'false statements of fact' and 'made scurrilous accusations'.
Tan has since reposted his article on Twitter, Google, and LinkedIn, calling for the government to issue correction orders to the companies.
