{"id":59517,"date":"2026-06-10T08:55:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T00:55:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=59517"},"modified":"2026-06-10T08:55:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T00:55:15","slug":"singapore-blocks-online-posts-targeting-indian-community-content-likely-from-china-based-platform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=59517","title":{"rendered":"Singapore blocks online posts targeting Indian community; content likely from China-based platform"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013 <!-- -->The authorities have ordered social media platforms to block access to 14 online posts that target the Indian community, such as by suggesting that Singapore was being overrun by Indians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">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 (MHA) said in a statement on June 6.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">MHA said the content, which 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, undermines Singapore\u2019s model of multiculturalism.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">MHA said: \u201cSingapore firmly opposes nativism and xenophobia. Any attempt to pit one community against another here must be firmly rejected. These attacks coming from a foreign source are doubly unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Speaking to reporters at Siglap South Community Centre on June 6, Law Minister Edwin Tong said there is no evidence at present to suggest that these posts were part of a coordinated campaign by any government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He was responding to a question on whether there was any reason to suspect a coordinated campaign by a state actor, in particular China.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tong, who is also Second Minister for Home Affairs, said investigations show the content was \u201clikely generated organically by various foreign netizens\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cI would say any country seeking to safeguard its social cohesion would agree with us that such content is unacceptable and would take a similar stance to safeguard their own society,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zero tolerance policy on content that threatens racial harmony: Edwin Tong, Josephine Teo\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hi0A748INtA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">MHA said that it assessed, together with the Singapore Police Force, that the posts are likely to constitute an offence under Section 298A of the Penal Code \u2013 for knowingly promoting feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different groups on grounds of race, or committing an act prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different racial groups in Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The police have issued disabling directions under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/online-criminal-harms-act-to-kick-in-from-feb-1-with-special-provisions-for-scams?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">Online Criminal Harms Act<\/span><\/a> for the content on YouTube, Facebook and X, which requires the platforms to take all reasonable steps to disable access by Singapore users to these posts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">All 14 posts were primarily<!-- --> <!-- -->in Chinese.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The ministry said it had also observed deliberate efforts to spread more such content in Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThese are malicious efforts to sow discord by inciting ill-will against the Indian community in Singapore,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThis includes Indian migrant workers in sectors such as construction who are here to make an honest living. They contribute to Singapore\u2019s growth and development, and are valued members of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The Government takes a serious view of threats to Singapore\u2019s social cohesion and racial harmony, including from external actors, and will act resolutely against them, it added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWe urge Singaporeans to be discerning when consuming and disseminating information online, and to reject all attempts to divide our society,\u201d MHA said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tong said the message in the<!-- --> <!-- -->posts, which he called \u201coffensive and problematic\u201d, is that the Chinese ethnic group has a greater right to belong in Singapore than other ethnic groups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">He said: \u201cWe don\u2019t tolerate any narratives at all that seek to undermine the racial harmony that we enjoy and that we protect, especially when <!-- -->they are<!-- --> propagated by foreigners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cAnd many of these posts are of foreign origin, so our priority right now is to take down these posts.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"default inline-media-wrapper\" data-testid=\"inline-media-test-id\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col items-start relative w-fit\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/5913a4b05af33ca6f3b5a8a5091ddabc251a7ddefa7ff505b2c693c89d1674ba?w=480\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 720px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/5913a4b05af33ca6f3b5a8a5091ddabc251a7ddefa7ff505b2c693c89d1674ba?w=720\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 721px and max-width: 3999px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/5913a4b05af33ca6f3b5a8a5091ddabc251a7ddefa7ff505b2c693c89d1674ba?w=900\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 4000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/5913a4b05af33ca6f3b5a8a5091ddabc251a7ddefa7ff505b2c693c89d1674ba\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/straitstimes\/5913a4b05af33ca6f3b5a8a5091ddabc251a7ddefa7ff505b2c693c89d1674ba\" alt=\"A screengrab of content on YouTube which selectively used images and footage of crowded streets along Little India.\" class=\"aspect-default flex items-start shrink-0 object-cover default article-default mobile:w-auto tablet:w-auto\" data-testid=\"image-test-id\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"mobile:mx-16 tablet:mx-00 py-16 desktop:pb-24\">\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular inline text-secondary\" data-testid=\"inline-media-caption-test-id\">A screengrab of content on YouTube which selectively used images and footage of crowded streets in Little India.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-eyebrow-baseline-regular inline text-placeholder\" data-testid=\"inline-media-credit-test-id\"> <!-- -->PHOTO: MDDI<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">MHA said narratives started circulating online \u201cin the Chinese information space\u201d in May that Singapore is displaying anxiety over its cultural identity and ethnic politics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Shortly after, online content emerged containing inflammatory narratives about Singapore\u2019s cultural diversity and suggesting that Singapore was being overrun by Indians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The ministry said these narratives include claims that Singapore\u2019s multiracial policy is a facade meant to appeal to Western values and that the country\u2019s stability cannot be attributed to its multiracial policy, but rather to its majority Chinese demographics.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The content included claims that the growing number of ethnic Indian politicians in Singapore would act in favour of Indian immigrants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The content also said that with Singapore\u2019s culture being fundamentally Chinese, the Government\u2019s approach of \u201cdecoupling\u201d itself from China while neglecting the threat of a growing Indian community would lead to a negative outcome.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Apart from the selective use of images and footage of crowded streets in Little India which MHA said were most likely taken at weekends, when migrant workers have their day off, the content also contains derogatory and demeaning language to refer to the Indian community in Singapore, for example, comparing increases in their numbers to \u201cconcentration of curry\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Tong said the videos attack Singapore\u2019s multiracial society and try to divide people based on race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cThis, however, is not who we are. Every community in Singapore here is valued, and everyone has an equal place,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cSo, these values and these videos strike at the very foundation of what makes Singapore home for all of us, and they undermine the very basis of our society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In a Facebook post late on June 6, Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said that it was \u201cunacceptable\u201d that these overseas videos attack one community and seek to divide the country on racial lines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">\u201cWe have to and will take firm action. MHA has taken such action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, said that following a thorough review, it has taken action on the flagged channels in accordance with local laws and its policies. ST has also contacted Meta and X for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/spore-blocks-online-posts-targeting-indian-community-content-likely-from-china-based-platform\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 The authorities have ordered social media platforms to block access to 14 online posts that target the Indian community, such as by suggesting&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}