Once upon a time, this was a prominent socio-political site called Wayang Party and was subsequently renamed Temasek Review.

It was so famous that it had a dispute in 2011 with Temasek Holdings over its name and the website became TR Emeritus (TRE).

It was so famous that the announcement of the identity of its editor became a media event in early 2012.

But this is 2016. And it is not as famous anymore.

So eyebrows were raised when the government responded to a socio-political site that it does not even recognise officially - TRE is not one of the sites that is registered under the Broadcasting (Class Licence) Notification.

Although the government has mentioned TRE  in a clarification to refute online errors about the haze situation, this is the first time the government has responded to TRE directly.

What the brouhaha is about:

In a statement posted on the Gov.sg Facebook page after midnight (June 7), the government criticised TRE for misleading the public with a "blatant lie" that Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat's medical expenses are being funded by taxpayers.

Heng, 54, collapsed during a Cabinet meeting on May 12 after suffering a stroke. He remained in Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a Facebook update on May 30 that the Heng was "recovering well".

TRE apologises

TRE apologised on its Facebook this morning for the republishing of the "incorrect comment" and for the article it published.

It added that it is a "volunteer-managed platform" and the site did not check the "underlying facts" before they published the piece.

It also apologised on TODAY's Facebook page.

What we have learnt from this incident:

1. Someone in the government reads online websites like TRE and responds to online misinformation within a day.

2. TRE prefers to use the government as a fact-checker and then proceeds to go round apologising online if it makes a mistake.

3. The poor civil service works beyond midnight on a weekday.

Top photo from Temasek Review Emeritus Facebook.

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