SINGAPORE: The Select Committee set up to look into the issue of deliberate online falsehoods has recommended that public institutions provide information to the public on online falsehoods in a timely manner, wherever possible.
In its report released on Thursday (Sep 20), the committee added that where appropriate, public institutions should also seek to pre-empt vulnerabilities and put out information in advance, in order to inoculate the public, and ensure that they communicate with the public in clear and comprehensible terms.
AdvertisementIn total, 22 recommendations were made by the 10-member committee, which was set up in January to deal with the issue of deliberate online falsehoods.
It received 170 written representations and heard oral evidence from 65 individuals and organisations over the course of eight days in March.
[h=3]READ: Select Committee makes 22 recommendations to deal with fake news threat to Singapore[/h]The committee explained that strong trust in public institutions makes it harder for deliberate online falsehoods to take effect. Conversely, mistrust in public institutions facilitates the uptake of falsehoods, it said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementCiting the views of Dr Janis Berzins, a national security expert from Latvia who made an oral representation to the committee in March, the committee said that any gap between the authorities and society is a key vulnerability that can be used as leverage by adversaries.
Dr Berzins had also cautioned that when people lose faith in public institutions, the chances of success for disinformation operations increase significantly.
“In that regard, public institutions are a central source of information for society,” said the committee. “If people lose trust in public institutions, they may turn instead to less reliable alternative sources of information.”
The committee also added that existing efforts be reviewed, to consider whether they are adequate to achieve the objectives of participation, transparency and accountability.
Transparency, for example, includes the swift communication of information in response to online falsehoods, the reasons for any Government action against online falsehoods, and the reasons for decisions not to disclose information to the public.
[h=3]READ: Public education necessary to fight against deliberate online falsehoods, says Select Committee[/h]On the recommendation that the Government should consider additional measures to safeguard the integrity of elections, committee member Chia Yong Yong said that the concern is not just whether deliberate falsehoods affect the outcome of an election, but how it undermines the democratic process.
"When you have wrong information and deliberately false information at that, the people do not have the correct information to make a proper decision, to conduct a rational debate. There could be doubts cast on the electoral process or the electoral outcome ... There could also be that occasion for the creation of greater suspicion and greater divide within the community," said Ms Chia at the press conference where the committee presented its findings.
Anecdotes of falsehoods impacting elections in other countries, such as the United States' 2016 election, has shown that falsehoods can be weaponised, said member Edwin Tong.
"Views change overnight because of what's put on the Internet. ... Emotions do run high, issues become hotly debated in a very partisan manner and significant divides can be exploited if one is not careful. So it is in that kind of context and scenario that we think the institution of an election has to be protected in a particularly special way," Mr Tong said.
EXTRA CARE MUST BE TAKEN TO PROTECT SOCIAL COHESION
Apart from reinforcing trust in public institutions and the Government, the committee also made recommendations to strengthen trust among people and communities, pointing out that Singapore’s efforts to maintain social harmony will need to evolve to address new problems.
In its report, the committee noted that Singapore’s diverse society provides fertile ground for “slow-drip” falsehoods that cause longer-term damage to society which may not always be visible.
One example was the falsehood spread by website The Real Singapore, about how a complaint by a Filipino family resulted in a commotion between Hindu participants and the police during a Thaipusam procession in Singapore.
“The story quickly gained traction among netizens, who did not question its veracity,” said the committee. “It led to xenophobic comments online.”
[h=3]READ: Select Committee says tech giants need to be more accountable; new laws possible[/h]Other representors, said the committee, also stressed that Singapore’s diversity means extra care must be taken to protect social cohesion. For example, representors from the various religious organisations explained that divides and fault lines are very real in Singapore, with a representative from the Singapore Buddhist Federation speaking of how people motivated by religious zeal or bigotry have spread falsehoods about the Buddhist faith or Buddhism.
To that end, the committee stressed that the task of maintaining social cohesion “has been and should continue to be a priority for Singapore”.
It recommended that organisations and initiatives for the promotion of social cohesion should consider providing clarifications and information on distortions and falsehoods affecting social cohesion.
Committee member Sun Xueling said: "It’s best for us to note that we have a pretty high trust of public institutions in Singapore. There’s a report that states that the trust in public institutions is about 58 per cent, which is quite high by global standards."
he Government, it added, should also consider supporting or conducting research to understand society’s vulnerabilities.
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