With social media, it facilitates the dissemination of misinformation in Singapore, requiring the local authorities to develop measures to control the spread and development of the problem here in Singapore. “The Internet remains an uncharted, fast-evolving territory. Current generations are able to communicate and share information instantaneously and at a scale larger than ever before. Social media increasingly allows information to spread around the world at breakneck speed … also enable the rapid viral spread of information that is either intentionally or unintentionally misleading or provocative, with serious consequence” (World Economic Forum, 2013)
For starters, misinformation should not be confused with disinformation, as they are two different things. Both involve the dissemination of false info, but the former is in an unintentional manner, and the latter in a deliberate manner (For example, propaganda). People wish to be in the know, and do not check the reliability of the information before posting, resulting in the spread of misinformation. Most of the time, only part of the whole picture is captured.
In Singapore, misinformation is prevalent, in forms such as Stomp, TheRealSingapore and other social media, both local and international. Misinformation may harm an individual by bringing unwanted fame to the individual, and in greater cases, the Singapore society. Misinformation can also disrupt the peace of Singapore’s many races and religions. Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen says misinformation works “to weaken our resolve and cause disunity”. Online misinformation could spread widely during tense or volatile situations, he added, causing confusion and chaos” (The Strait Times, 2013) As such, measures have to be taken by the necessary authorities, namely the Media Development Authority (MDA), to control the spread of misinformation.
As of now, MDA has a ruling on the spread of misinformation. In a paper written by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, it states that “websites which produce an average of at least one Singapore news programme a week for a period of two consecutive months, and with average monthly visitors of at least 50,000 for the same two consecutive months, will have to be individually licensed. In addition, these websites will have to put up a performance bond of $50,000 and will be obligated to comply with any content takedown notice by MDA within a 24- hour period.” (Melanie Chua, 2013) With this ruling, it gives the government control over local means of information dissemination, allowing the government to shut down any sites which go against the regulations.
This has drawn flak from the public, citing that this undermines the right to freedom of speech for the people and the ruling having unreasonable terms and conditions. Protests were held, with the Blackout movement online, and the #FreeMyInternet protests held at Hong Lim Park. Many questioned the need for the ruling, as there were previous rulings governing the usage of the Internet in Singapore. Yes, by having multiple rulings on the usage of the Internet here in Singapore helps to reduce the spread of misinformation, but will it come upon as a threat to the internet, rather than to benefit the Internet in Singapore?
One possible measure that can be implemented, is to have a citizen/government cooperative initiative, to debunk misinformation, and control the spread of misinformation. Misinformation can be clarified by the initiative, before being spread to the masses and causing confusion and chaos. The public now would have a reliable source of information to compare against the (mis)information they see online and see the whole picture. As the public is better informed, they would spread more of the truth, rather than misinformation.
However, this suggestion has its own drawbacks. First, one might ask what the extent of the citizen/government cooperation is. Too much of government involvement, and one will say that it is state run, controlling behind the scenes. Too much of citizen involvement, and it might turn out to be unreliable. It is difficult to determine the extent of involvement of one party or another.
The best way is still individual vigilance, to determine the reliability of the information by oneself, before spreading it to others. There is only so much the MDA can do to prevent the spread of misinformation. The culprits of spreading misinformation in Singapore are the users of the Internet here, and the best way to reduce the spread of misinformation is to educate the people about the use of the Internet. Individually it might not mean much, but with thousands of people practicing individual vigilance in the spread of misinformation, it would build up. Bit by bit, over time, it will accumulate, putting an end to the spread of misinformation.
Social media is one of the main reasons for the spread of misinformation. However, social media and misinformation are here to stay. It is virtually impossible to entirely stop the spread of misinformation. The only thing we can do is to work together to come up with measures which minimize the impact misinformation has on individuals and ultimately on Singapore.
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