Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has come out to defend the existence of STOMP, a voyeurism site that also peddles falsehoods.

In a news article published in The Straits Times without any byline on April 17, 2014, SPH offered its defence by quoting the head of its digital media group and executive vice-president of corporate communications.

(Click on picture to go to ST's story)

This article served as SPH's and STOMP's official response to a recent petition calling for STOMP to be shut down.

Prior to this piece, both SPH and STOMP had been silent about the issue for more than a week.

However, the three points they came up with to defend STOMP can be easily rebutted:

1. Felix Soh, editor, digital media group, of SPH's Digital Division which oversees STOMP, said: "It is sad that those who clamour for the freedom of the Internet are now asking for the closure of a website -- just because they don't like it."

Rebuttal 1: If even people who want freedom of the Internet are against you, that says a lot about STOMP.

2. SPH spokeswoman Ginney Lim, executive vice-president of corporate communications and corporate social responsibility said: "Two of our staff received emails from the petition organiser thanking them for signing up to the petition, when in fact they had not done so. Upon investigation, we have found that the website, change.org, which is being used to initiate the petitions, works in a loose way -- anyone can go to the website and sign up any number of people."

"So a person can sign up his entire address book and insert comments, and all of them will be counted as having signed the petition."

"Under the circumstances, the number of petitioners being cited is likely to be grossly inflated."

Rebuttal 2: You'd rather address the shortcomings of the petition than STOMP's shortcomings. Classy.

3. Lim has also pointed out that STOMP has taken a strong stance on professionalism. In 2012, it sacked content producer Samantha Francis, then 23, for submitting a fake photo of a SMRT train running with its doors open.

Rebuttal 3: The firing occurred in June 2012.

But six months after the firing, STOMP continued to publish fake stories in January 2013, this time about a woman fainting at the nomination centre to unite Singapore.

No one got fired for this.

For more background of this issue, read:

Petition to close down STOMP reaches 11,000 signatures in 18 hours

Petition to close down STOMP gets 19,000 signatures in 36 hours

STOMP, MDA, MCI camera-shy, declined appearing on Al Jazeera to discuss S’pore’s shame addiction

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