GE2025 to be acid test for Singapore's legal shields against foreign meddling, race-baiting
SINGAPORE, March 28 — The 2025 general election is set to be a key test of Singapore's legal framework against foreign interference, as authorities, political parties, and tech platforms prepare to counter digital threats and misinformation.
With elections increasingly fought online, experts warn of heightened risks from state-linked actors, The Straits Times reported.
'Foreign adversaries see election season as an opportunity to disrupt, especially given Singapore's short campaign period,' Eugene Tan from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, was quoted as saying.
Past incidents highlight these risks. During the 2023 Presidential Election, racially charged narratives emerged on Chinese platforms, although the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) found no evidence of coordinated attempts to sway public opinion.
'We must remain vigilant and ensure our legal safeguards remain robust,' an MHA spokesman said.
Foreign interference has been a growing concern globally. In the United States, major elections have seen cyberattacks, hack-and-leak operations, and disinformation campaigns aimed at influencing voters.
In December 2024, Romania annulled its presidential election after authorities detected a foreign-backed disinformation campaign designed to manipulate public opinion.
Singapore has strengthened its legal arsenal in recent years. The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act (FICA) allows authorities to investigate and act against foreign-backed disinformation campaigns.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) empowers the government to issue corrections and block misinformation.
New laws specifically targeting digital threats have also come into force. The Elections (Integrity of Online Advertising) Act, effective January 2025, bans AI-generated deepfakes and deceptive election content.
The Ministry of Digital Development and Information is collaborating with Google, Meta, and TikTok to curb electoral misinformation.
Political parties are also taking additional precautions. The PAP has urged voters to rely on official sources, while the PSP has cybersecurity experts securing its communication systems.
At the same time, tech platforms have implemented some safeguards to this end.
Meta enforces strict policies on political ads, TikTok removes false electoral content, and Google has introduced AI content labelling.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Opinion - Despite military purges, China's next war ‘could be imminent' and spread fast
'There's no reason to sugarcoat it,' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on May 31 at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier security conference. 'The threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.' Hegseth is right: America needs to urgently prepare for war. War is coming to East Asia, and Taiwan — to which Hegseth was referring — is a target of Chinese aggression. Chinese President Xi Jinping, after all, has staked his personal legitimacy on annexing it as China's 34th province. Yet the U.S. and its partners have to be ready for anything at any place and at any time. Why? The Chinese regime, which is mobilizing all of society for war, is now unstable. It is not clear who, if anyone, is in charge. Therefore, the regime could take us by surprise. One thing we know: Xi's most senior loyalist in uniform has disappeared from public view. Gen. He Weidong, a vice chairman of the Communist Party's Central Military Commission and the second highest-ranked uniformed officer, was last seen in public on March 11, at the end of the Communist Party's major political event of the year, the so-called Two Sessions. Many report that Xi sacked He. It's true that Xi, since being named general secretary of the party in November 2012, has purged many military officers, ostensibly for 'corruption,' and restructured the People's Liberation Army. Both moves resulted in his taking firm control of the military. Some have therefore assumed that Xi, for some reason, turned on his most important supporter in the military in March. However, it is not likely that Xi took down He. On the contrary, it is much more probable that Xi's adversaries removed that general. While Xi loyalists were being removed from public view, PLA Daily, the Chinese military's main propaganda organ, ran a series of articles praising 'collective leadership,' a direct rejection of Xi's continual calls for unity, centralization of control and complete obedience to his rule. These articles, which began appearing last July, were written by people aligned with the top-ranked uniformed officer, Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Gen. Zhang Youxia. The propaganda pieces could not have appeared if Xi were in complete control of the military. Moreover, He's disappearance was followed by the disappearance of another Xi loyalist, Gen. He Hongjun. Rumors started that both generals had died by suicide in May at the military's 301 Hospital in Beijing. Whether they are alive or not, they are out of the way, so their disappearance spells trouble for Xi. 'Gen. He Weidong was instrumental in Xi's earlier purges in the military, so his disappearance could indicate a great threat to Xi's authority,' Charles Burton of the Sinopsis think tank noted in comments to me this month. The recent disappearances follow the sackings of, among others, Gen. Li Shangfu, a defense minister, Gen. Wei Fenghe, one of Li's predecessors and perhaps as many as 70 in the Rocket Force, the branch responsible for the country's nuclear weapons. Given all the turmoil in the Chinese military, America and its partners need to focus on more than just Taiwan. In fact, the main island of Taiwan might be the least likely target. To start hostilities by attacking Taiwan's main island, China would need to launch a combined air-land-sea operation. To do that, Xi would have to give a general or admiral almost complete control over the military. The appointed flag officer would thereby become the most powerful figure in China. Even in the calmest of times, Xi would be reluctant to create such a rival for power, but this is by no means a calm moment in Beijing. China's leader seems to have lost substantial influence recently — so much so that there is speculation he could be pushed out of power in the coming months. Whoever is controlling the purges — Xi or his political enemies — the Chinese military does not look ready to launch a complex operation such as a Taiwan invasion. Either Xi does not have the power to order an invasion because the military no longer answers to him, or Xi does not trust the most senior officers, a precondition for such a complex undertaking. Despite all the turmoil in the leadership ranks, Hegseth was right to talk about an imminent war. The disruptive leadership moves in China have not prevented the Chinese military from engaging in low-level but especially provocative actions in the last couple of months against countries to China's south and east. We do not know whether China's regime has made the decision to go to war, but its series of dangerous actions clearly reveals it has made the decision to risk war. And war, if it begins somewhere, will likely spread. For one thing, the Chinese leadership will not be able to deal with incidents responsibly. In senior Communist Party circles these days, only the most hostile answers are considered acceptable. Another factor is the existence of alliance and semi-alliance networks in the region. Four of China's targets, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Australia, are U.S. treaty allies, and one, Taiwan, is protected by the United States. China, for its part, could bring in its friends. Moreover, the U.S. should be prepared for conflict with the world's most destructive weapons. 'China has spent the last five decades investing in building nuclear proxy forces in Pakistan, North Korea and Iran to create nuclear crises to divert Washington's attention away from the Taiwan Strait,' Richard Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center told me this month. 'China's investment in Russia's war in Ukraine is in the same vein.' As Blaine Holt, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, said after Hegseth's comments, 'Millions of lives now hang in the balance.' Gordon G. Chang is the author of 'Plan Red: China's Project to Destroy America' and 'The Coming Collapse of China.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Nvidia, AMD, Other Chip Stocks Rise on Hopes China Export Restrictions Could Ease
Semiconductor stocks rose, lifted by optimism that trade discussions Monday between U.S. and China officials could lead to reduced export curbs. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC he expects a deal structured around rare earth minerals and semiconductors. However, Hassett said he doesn't expect the U.S. to lift restrictions on the sale of Nvidia H20 chips in stocks rose Monday as a White House official indicated restrictions on chip exports to China could be lessened as a result of trade talks taking place in London. Officials from Washington and Beijing intended to discuss the release of rare earth minerals to the U.S. and the expansion of Chinese access to American-made semiconductors, White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said on CNBC. 'I expect it to be a short meeting with a big, strong handshake,' Hassett said. President Donald Trump spoke with China President Xi Jinping on the phone last week. Nvidia (NVDA) shares were recently up about 0.8%, while chipmaking rivals Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel (INTC) added 3.5% and 2.8%, respectively. The PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) gained more than 2%. (Read Investopedia's full coverage of Monday's trading here.) Hassett said the U.S. does not expect to reduce restrictions on the sale of Nvidia's H20 chip in China, which the Trump administration effectively barred earlier this year. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is also in London for London Tech Week, has called the export curbs a 'failure.' Read the original article on Investopedia Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Saskatchewan and Ontario remove trade barriers
While premiers met in Saskatoon last week, an agreement between Saskatchewan and Ontario to break down trade barriers was announced. Putting ink to paper, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Ontario Premier Doug Ford signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the two provinces to work on getting rid of roadblocks between the two provinces. 'Saskatchewan has long been a leader in reducing trade barriers,' said Trade and Export Minister Warren Kaeding. 'This MOU is the progress on internal trade that our country needs to remain competitive and resilient.' He explained that the two provinces will work together to improve the flow of goods, services, and labour mobility; recognize the importance of strengthening public safety and the integrity and role of our Crown corporations; and advance direct to consumer alcohol sales while working with other willing jurisdictions to do the same. 'We continue to see success in internal trade through our participation in the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) and the New West Partnership Trade Agreement with British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba,' Kaeding said. According to statistics from 2021, total interprovincial trade between the two provinces amounted to $6.4 billion. 'Now is the time to take strong action to strengthen trade across Canada,' noted Moe. 'Our province remains committed to removing restrictive barriers that limit the flow of trade. Today's MOU between Saskatchewan and Ontario is just one of the ways we are unlocking the infinite potential that exists within our industries from coast to coast.' Trade makes up around 70 per cent of Saskatchewan's Gross Domestic Product, with the recent signing of the MOU seen as providing more stability when actions south of the border threaten change at a whim. 'With President Trump taking direct aim at Canada's economy, we need to do everything we can to protect Ontario and Canadian workers by super-charging our own internal trade opportunities,' Ford said. 'With both of us coming together today, we are helping Canada unlock up to $200 billion in gains for our economy, and we are showing everyone how all of us premiers are standing up for Canada like never before. Together, we are building a more competitive, more resilient and more self-reliant economy.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
