The POFMA Office has issued correction orders to the Facebook pages of People’s Voice (PV) the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) for issuing false statements that had gone viral online.
They had claimed that the CEO of the Housing & Development Board had suggested Singapore’s population growth reach to 10 million by the year 2030.
The Online Citizen Asia had also an article on its website and Facebook page, as well as another Facebook page of Sin Rak Sin Party.
The POFMA Office said that: “This is with regard to false statements of fact claiming that a statement made by Dr Cheong Koon Hean at the IPS-Nathan Lectures in 2018 suggested that our population would increase to 10 million by 2030. Dr Cheong made no statement suggesting that our population would increase to 10 million by 2030.”
The POFMA office also issued a Targeted Correction Direction to Facebook.
Meaning that Facebook has to apply a correction notice on posts with a picture carrying the same falsehoods.
Public interest was a concern thus the directive.
Facebook is required to communicate a correction notice to its users in Singapore who can access the falsehoods for a better understanding to guard themselves from false information.
Government statements have shared that it has not proposed Singapore to increase its population to reach 10 million in the near future.
Mr Heng had responded that: “As the Straits Times clarified this morning, I did not say that Singapore should plan to increase its population to 10 million people, nor did I mention the figure.”
This figure of a 10 million population nation has been viral not only on media platforms but also in ‘coffeeshop talk’ that has irked many especially during such unprecedented times and may are glad that the government has issued such statements to calm the public.
Clarifications were done by respective politicians and the relevant departments that Singapore’s total population is likely to be significantly below 6.9 million by 2030.