SINGAPORE: At first glance, the content looks innocuous.<\/p>\n
A Facebook page posts fun facts, celebrity gossip or other \u201cupdates\u201d on happenings in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Amid the clickbait, the tone shifts.<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the same page is amplifying inflammatory narratives claiming Singapore is being \u201ctaken over\u201d by Indians.<\/p>\n
An hour later, the page returns to seemingly innocuous content \u2013 a food review.<\/p>\n
This pivot from casual clickbait to narratives that could undermine the Republic\u2019s racial harmony and multiculturalism was among the patterns that The Straits Times found after examining five of the accounts involved in 14 posts that the Government has ordered blocked on YouTube, Facebook and X for targeting the Indian community.<\/p>\n
This modus operandi \u2013 which was most pronounced on Facebook \u2013 resembles techniques seen in foreign influence campaigns, where social media accounts first draw followers with clickbait before introducing divisive messaging.<\/p>\n
The posts selectively used images and footage of crowded streets in Little India and of Indian devotees at a religious festival here to back their claims that Singapore is \u201covercrowded\u201d with Indians, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said.<\/p>\n
One Chinese-language Facebook page, with its name translating into English as Singapore Fun House, has more than 86,000 followers and posts Singapore-related news daily.<\/p>\n
Its history, however, suggests that it did not start as a Singapore-centric page.<\/p>\n
Created in November 2020, it was known at that time as Xiu Jie Kai\u2019s Love Manual and posted photos of the Taiwanese actor almost daily.<\/p>\n
Less than a year later, it was renamed Malaysia Fun Facts Museum, before adopting its current name in June 2022.<\/p>\n
None of the nine people managing the page appears to be Singapore-based \u2013 seven are in Hong Kong, one is in the United States, and the last has an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n
Yet the page routinely posts Singapore-related news, sharing links to various Chinese-language websites that look similar, despite having different names.<\/p>\n
These websites all list the same operator in their privacy policies: Wubianjie, a China-based digital marketing company.<\/p>\n
Another Chinese-language Facebook group that shared anti-Indian content appears to follow the same playbook. Its name translates to Malaysia Must Go Fans\u2019 Tips Section.<\/p>\n
It shares Malaysian news and redirects those who click the links to websites also operated by Wubianjie.<\/p>\n
The company previously drew scrutiny from Taiwan\u2019s National Security Bureau and Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), which flagged the company for its alleged links to a foreign influence campaign.<\/p>\n
The April report by RSF, or Reporters Without Borders, said Wubianjie, based in the Chinese port city of Qinhuangdao, controls hundreds of Facebook pages which weave in narratives aligned with Beijing\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n
The Taiwanese bureau said in 2025 that Wubianjie operates social media accounts on Facebook, Threads and X, posting about \u201csoft topics\u201d to expand its reach before attempting to sway public opinion.<\/p>\n
In Singapore\u2019s case, Law and Second Home Affairs Minister Edwin Tong said on June 6 that investigations show that the offending content was \u201clikely generated organically by various foreign netizens\u201d.<\/p>\n
There is no evidence at present to suggest a coordinated campaign by any government, he said.<\/p>\n
On YouTube, ST found three accounts that posted anti-Indian videos.<\/p>\n
Although there was no evidence connecting the YouTube channels to a single corporate entity such as Wubianjie, they all uploaded content that originally came from Chinese social media platforms such as Douyin, China\u2019s equivalent of TikTok.<\/p>\n
A Hong Kong-based channel, I\u2019m Sun Huo Wang Studio, appeared to have lifted content from a Chinese comedian\u2019s videos on Bilibili, one of China\u2019s biggest video-sharing websites.<\/p>\n
On Bilibili, the comedian\u2019s account features skits in which he acts out various scenarios.<\/p>\n
On the YouTube channel, however, the clips are interspersed with what appear to be AI-generated videos made to resemble news broadcasts commenting on geopolitics. MHA flagged one of these videos for targeting the Indian community.<\/p>\n
Another YouTube channel republished videos from a Douyin account bearing the same name, Li Shuyong Storytelling Theatre. It lists its location as the US and has just 199 subscribers.<\/p>\n
The Douyin account, based in China\u2019s Liaoning province, has more than five million followers.<\/p>\n
Its Douyin video claiming that \u201cIndians are taking over Singapore\u201d has amassed more than 66,000 likes and 3,000 comments since it was posted on June 1.<\/p>\n
When asked if the authorities will act against users who share such content on Chinese platforms, a spokeswoman for MHA told ST that the disabling directions it issued to YouTube, Facebook and X are meant to prevent Singapore users from accessing the inflammatory posts that originated from China-based platforms.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgencies will continue to monitor for content which is assessed to contain harmful or offensive narratives that could undermine our social cohesion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf similar content that is accessible by Singapore users is detected, we will not hesitate to take further action as needed to protect Singapore\u2019s interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar themes have emerged on a series of social media accounts with the same name, mixiaoman88, which criticised the Government\u2019s recent move to block content targeting the Indian community as an attempt to stifle freedom of expression.<\/p>\n
Checks show that the people behind the accounts are former Singapore permanent residents from China who ran a clothing store in Clarke Quay Central. One of them was declared bankrupt here in 2024.<\/p>\n
These accounts, which are on Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, use AI-generated videos and include English subtitles.<\/p>\n
One post singled out Singaporean political office-holders who are Indian.<\/p>\n
Asked if these accounts were among those issued disabling directions, MHA said it was unable to provide more details. – The Straits Times\/ANN<\/p>\n
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