{"id":59298,"date":"2026-06-09T13:40:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T05:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=59298"},"modified":"2026-06-09T13:40:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T05:40:04","slug":"pm-wong-on-population-ai-enabled-disinformation-and-whether-a-cabinet-reshuffle-is-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=59298","title":{"rendered":"PM Wong on population, AI-enabled disinformation and whether a Cabinet reshuffle is coming"},"content":{"rendered":"


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SINGAPORE \u2013 Artificial intelligence and other technologies are enabling the creation of more misinformation and disinformation, and when content crosses the line Singapore will take action, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on June 8.<\/p>\n

Such an environment could make it harder for people to agree on the basic set of facts \u2013 making it \u201cimpossible to hold a society together\u201d, said PM Wong at a dialogue with the Singapore Press Club held at the SPH Media auditorium in Toa Payoh.<\/p>\n

The Government does not want this to happen in Singapore, and that is why it will continue to step up defences and safeguards, he said, addressing a question on a recent move by the authorities to block 14 online posts targeting the Indian community.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Investigations showed that the content most likely originated from a platform based in China and was subsequently carried on other platforms and websites, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement on June 6.<\/p>\n

The content selectively used images and footage of crowded streets in Little India and of Indian devotees at a religious festival in Pagoda Street to back claims that Singapore is \u201covercrowded\u201d with Indians.<\/p>\n

Speaking to an audience that included local and foreign journalists, PM Wong said the authorities have safeguards such as the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act<\/span><\/a> to stop such falsehoods from spreading.<\/p>\n

But it also depends on the media coming together to build a trusted ecosystem, he said.<\/p>\n

The Government wants media outlets to operate in Singapore in a way that is \u201ctrusted and responsible\u201d, to inform citizens and create space for serious conversations and discourse on issues that matter to Singapore. This will ultimately contribute to Singapore\u2019s long-term success, he said.<\/p>\n

PM Wong also addressed a question on Singapore\u2019s immigration policy amid falling birth rates.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The country is \u201cfar away\u201d from getting to the previously stated upper planning limit for its population at 6.9 million, he said. Its population stood at 6.11 million as at June 2025.<\/p>\n

It is not so much about articulating a new figure, or what that figure might be \u2013 \u201cthere is no new figure to be updated, because our population will just grow at a much slower rate than before, and we are just trying to maintain stability and to avoid population decline\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

The authorities will continue to control immigration, because they want to make sure that all new arrivals share Singapore\u2019s values and way of life and are able to integrate well.<\/p>\n

But given that the immigration flows will continue to be controlled, and that domestic fertility rates are not likely to go up sharply, the population is not likely to reach a very high figure at all, he noted. \u201cWe\u2019re just talking about maintaining stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

On falling birth rates, PM Wong noted that it is a global phenomenon which does not have a clear reason or solution. The authorities have formed a new workgroup to look at what more can be done to create a family-friendly environment in Singapore, he noted.<\/p>\n

But given the realities of where the country\u2019s fertility rates \u2013 which fell to a historic low of 0.87 in 2025 \u2013 are likely to be, Singapore will remain open as a society, PM Wong said. \u201cWe must, because that\u2019s who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The country should welcome people to work here, and should have some of them who share the country\u2019s values and way of life become Singaporeans, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should continue to maintain that posture as an open society, as an immigrant nation.\u201d<\/p>\n