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The Minister for Communications and Information has directed the Infocomm and Media Development Authority (IMDA) to block access to the website of Asia Sentinel from internet users in Singapore, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said in a press release on Jun. 2.

This comes after Asia Sentinel's "non-compliance with the Correction Direction issued on May. 26, 2023 for falsehoods" in the website's article entitled "Singapore kills a Chicken to Scare the Monkeys".

The article was published by Asia Sentinel on May 24.

Published correction notices, but not in compliance with requirements

In its press release, MCI explained that the Correction Direction issued to Asia Sentinel "required the facts to be juxtaposed against the falsehoods".

This is so that "end-users in Singapore can read both versions and draw their own conclusions".

However, MCI said that Asia Sentinel did not comply with the Correction Direction.

"While Asia Sentinel carried the Correction Notices, this was not done in compliance with the requirements of the Correction Direction for the respective Correction Notices to be situated at the top of the article and at the top of the main page of the website."

It added that the Minister for Communications and Information will cancel the Access Blocking Orders should Asia Sentinel comply with the "full requirements of the Correction Direction."

Currently, there are two notices atop of the article in question on the Asia Sentinel website.

The first is an editor's note, which states that the Singapore government has directed the Asia Sentinel to post "the following demand for correction".

The editor's note continues:

"Although we are posting the government’s demand, which we received at 10:51 AM on May 27, we are reserving the right to answer their demand at a future time. In the meantime, we stand by our story."

The editor's note is then followed by a Correction Notice comprising three lines of facts in bullet points, as well as a link to the Factually article hosted on the government's website.

POFMA direction does not require article take down: MHA

Following the receipt of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation (POFMA) Act's Correction Direction, Asia Sentinel published an article entitled "Asia Sentinel answer to Singapore Government Demand for Correction" on May 29, 2023.

In the article, Asia Sentinel asserted that the website is "domiciled in California in the United States" and thus, they are not subject to "demands or threats of the Singapore government".

It then goes on to dispute the assertions laid out in the government's Factually article before stating the belief that POFMA is being used against Asia Sentinel because of its reporting.

Asia Sentinel also reiterated that it stood by its story.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has since responded to the Asia Sentinel's May 29 article in a Jun. 2 press release.

MHA clarified that under POFMA, a Correction Direction "may be issued if a false statement of fact has been or is being communicated in Singapore".

"As Asia Sentinel’s article, “Singapore kills a Chicken to Scare the Monkeys” (“the Article”), which contains false statements of fact, is made available to end-users in Singapore, it is being communicated in Singapore", MHA said.

MHA stated that the Correction Direction issued to Asia Sentinel does not require the May 24 article to be taken down.

Instead, it only requires the Asia Sentinel to post the correction notice "in the manner that has been stipulated in the Correction Direction".

"If Asia Sentinel truly believes in free speech, it should be happy for its readers to read both the Article and the correction notice, and make up their own minds which is true", MHA added.

The ministry further noted that while Asia Sentinel has published the correction notice, it has not done so in the "required form and manner".

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Top image Asia Sentinel