Singapore slams fake news law on opposition Facebook post

Censure of Peoples Voice's social media postings is first during election cycle

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The law came into effect in October, aiming to combat what the government calls the spread of fake news.  © Reuters

KENTARO IWAMOTO, Nikkei staff writer

SINGAPORE -- The Singapore government on Thursday ordered an opposition party to correct a video posted on social media, marking the first use of the country's "fake news" law during the general election campaign period that started Tuesday.

The office that oversees the law said a correction directive was issued against social media pages belonging to the opposition party Peoples Voice. Both the party's Facebook page and the YouTube channel belonging to party leader Lim Tean were issued the order because a video on these websites "contained a falsehood regarding government expenditure on foreign students," the office said.

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