A Singapore opposition party said today it was prepared to legally challenge a government order to attach correction notices to its online posts, accusing the government of using a new fake news law to stymie political debate.The Singapore Democratic Party , which has no current representation in Parliament, was last month told to issue the notices on an article on its website and related Facebook posts that discussed white-collar jobs in the city-state.
It attached the notices, but today said it stood by its content and asked for the correction notices to be retracted by the Labour Ministry. "We call on the minister to not only retract the correction directions but also issue an immediate, unambiguous and public apology to the SDP, failing which we will be obliged to pursue the matter in court," SDP said in a statement on its website.
Rights groups fear the law may curb free speech, and opposition politicians say it could give the government too much power as elections loom. Singaporean diplomats have recently defended the law in letters sent to global media outlets like the