Edwin Tong disagrees with view of fake news law's 'chilling effect' on political discussions

Senior Minister of State for Law and Health Edwin Tong said on Wednesday that he disagreed with the view that there will be a “chilling effect” on political discussions in Singapore when a sweeping bill to tackle the spread of online falsehoods is passed.

However, he noted that some, potentially those less educated, might initially struggle to understand the differences. As such, it is necessary for the government to undertake efforts to help the public better understand the law, he added. Tong explained, “If we wanted to block the site, or remove the publisher’s licence and so on, that can already be done today. No additional laws will be needed to achieve the outcome.”

Story continuesCiting a 2018 Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, Tong said that falsehoods are found to have a reach of up to 100,000 people while true statements rarely reach more than 1,000. Falsehoods are also 70 per cent more likely to be retweeted, the study found. “Obviously over time, if this keeps happening, then trust in the government will also be undermined,” said Tong. “The government is not the one that stands outside of the system, without any oversight.”

PAPSingapore wpsg What assurances you can give to prove it? All talk only. Your BS is piling up and suffocating.

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