Singapore blocks access to East Asia Forum for second time over POFMA order

SINGAPORE: Internet service providers in Singapore have been ordered to block access to the Australia-based academic website East Asia Forum over what authorities said was non-compliance with a correction direction by the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office.

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) announced this on Friday (Jan 24), two days after the POFMA order was issued.

Wednesday's order relates to an article on Jan 14, titled "Singapore’s new prime minister entangled in old politics". The PMO said it contained false statements about the country's governance.

This is the second time Singapore has blocked access to East Asia Forum over a POFMA order, with the first in September 2023.

"The correction direction issued to East Asia Forum on Jan 22, 2025, had required the facts to be displayed along with the falsehoods, enabling end-users in Singapore to read both versions and make their own judgements," said MDDI and PMO on Friday.

"Despite three reminders sent to East Asia Forum to comply with the correction direction, East Asia Forum has not complied."

They added that the access blocking orders will be cancelled when the platform complies with the "full requirements of the correction direction".

Under the law, East Asia Forum is required to carry correction notices against the Jan 14 article, as well as the social media platforms where the article was reposted. It must also provide a link to the government's clarification.

A check by CNA at noon on Friday showed that East Asia Forum had posted a correction notice at the bottom of the article, stating that the article contained falsehoods. The notice also contained a link to the government's Factually article stating the government's clarification. 

Accompanying the correction notice was a rebuttal stating East Asia Forum's position on the matter and why it disagreed with the POFMA order. 

The 2023 correction direction required East Asia Forum to carry a correction notice at the top of the article and the main page of the website.

On Friday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office Indranee Rajah also instructed the POFMA office to issue targeted correction direction notices to Meta Platforms, LinkedIn, and X.

"This follows East Asia Forum’s failure to carry the correction notice in its Facebook, LinkedIn, and X posts linking to the same article," said MDDI and PMO.

"Meta Platforms, LinkedIn, and X will be required to communicate a correction notice to all end-users in Singapore who had accessed, or will access, the posts."

GOVERNMENT'S CLARIFICATIONS

According to the government's fact-checking website, Factually, the Jan 14 article published on East Asia Forum "communicates assertions which are false and misleading".

The article alleged that Singapore's ruling elite pursues "self-interest while in office as long as no laws were broken".

It pointed to several events, including Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's dispute with his siblings over the family home at 38 Oxley Road.

It would "not be easy" for Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to make changes while Mr Lee remains in the Cabinet as Senior Minister, the article alleged.

According to Factually, the East Asia Forum article falsely said that the Singapore government "misused the resources and time of the Cabinet, parliament, the police ... to pursue Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong's private agenda against his siblings and turn his family home, into a memorial to his father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and himself".

The police investigations involving Mr Lee Hsien Loong's sibling were because a disciplinary tribunal found that Mr Lee Hsien Yang and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern lied under oath. Additionally, no decision has been made yet on 38 Oxley Road, noted Factually.