SINGAPORE — Alternative news site The Independent Singapore (TISG) has been issued with a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) for claiming in an article that Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam may be stepping down from his ministerial positions.
The article published on the TISG website on Thursday (April 21) had the headline: “K Shanmugam says he may step down as Singapore’s Minister of Law and Home Affairs”. It was also carried on TISG's Facebook page and Twitter account.
Its author, Mr Toh Han Shih, also shared the article on his personal Twitter account on Thursday. By 2.45pm on Friday, Mr Toh had appended the required correction notice above the tweet.
In a press release on Friday, the Law Ministry said: “The headline was clickbait, giving the false impression that the Minister for Law and Home Affairs said he may be stepping down from his ministerial positions.”
“The first paragraph of the article stated that the minister 'revealed' in an interview with Vanakkam Malaysia that he may step down as Singapore’s Minister for Law and Home Affairs, but gave no specific time as to when he might do so.
TISG’s article had drawn on a recent video interview Mr Shanmugam conducted with Vanakkam Malaysia that was shared on the minister’s Facebook page on April 19.
Mr Shanmugam, 63, spoke about his childhood, and his journey since entering politics in 1988 in the interview.
“The minister did not say during the video...
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