SINGAPORE, March 26 — Singapore police are investigating an article published by The Online Citizen (TOC) over claims that Singaporeans had served in the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), as authorities moved to issue a correction order under fake news laws, CNA reported.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said today that the probe is to determine “if there are any potential criminal offences arising from the statements made in the article”, while TOC editor Terry Xu and its publisher were also issued a correction direction under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma).
They are required to publish correction notices linked to the government’s clarification.
The March 5 article alleged, among other claims, that Singapore’s Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam had deliberately given incomplete answers in Parliament regarding two alleged Singaporeans linked to the IDF, and that no action was taken due to Singapore’s ties with Israel.
MHA rejected these claims, saying there is no substantiated information that any Singaporean has served in the IDF during the Gaza conflict.
“It is therefore false to suggest that the minister deliberately chose to give incomplete answers to the PQs. His reply to the PQs was given based on all the information available to him,” the ministry said.
It also dismissed suggestions that the government possessed identifying details of the individuals in question or had chosen not to act on them.
“It is also false to suggest that the government has specific information beyond the Declassified UK article to act on, or that it is able to identify the two Singaporeans,” MHA said.
Authorities said they had sought clarification from Israel but had yet to receive a response, adding: “The government has no information on the veracity of these allegations, nor on the identity of these two Singaporeans who had purportedly served in the IDF.”
The ministry further clarified that no action had been taken against a February 11 report by Declassified UK because there was insufficient information to assess whether it contained falsehoods.
“It is therefore false to suggest that the government has not issued directions under the Pofma in respect of the Declassified UK article because these allegations are true,” it said.
MHA stressed that Singapore would take a tough stance on citizens involved in foreign conflicts.
“Singaporeans found to be fighting or planning to fight in foreign armed conflicts, regardless of the cause or side they are supporting, will be dealt with sternly in accordance with our laws,” it said.
The ministry added that TOC has a “track record of repeatedly communicating falsehoods”, noting that this is the 25th correction direction issued to the platform and its editor.
Authorities also urged the public to be cautious, saying: “The public is encouraged to be discerning when engaging with information published on TOC’s and Heidoh’s platforms.”
A check by CNA found that TOC had added correction notices to the article and related social media posts by Thursday afternoon.
