Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said that the government will not always resort to “extreme use” of the legislative levers when responding to misinformation unless the circumstances call for it.
Responding to Workers’ Party’s Jamus Lim, who asked if a “degree of the benefit of the doubt” could be given to people who share misinformation unwittingly.
Lim queried:
 I have in mind a grandma who may run the risk of falling afoul of POFMA (Protection against Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act) because she shares reservations in a WhatsApp message which she receives about MRNA vaccines and she’s exercising just individual skepticism
Iswaran also noted that misinformation is a “serious challenge” in Singapore’s fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the past year, there have been over 60 instances of misinformation pertaining to Covid-19, which the authorities have responded to.
Iswaran also did not rule out the use of POFMA in serious cases of misinformation:
We are also actively monitoring for vaccine-related misinformation. Where there is cause for action, we will not hesitate to use the full force of the law.