Media/ Freedom/ Govt [SG]

Question 1

What data is there to suggest that the mainstream media in Singapore is not very pluralistic, functioning more as a mouthpiece for the incumbent party than a check against it? (Press/ general freedom)

Answer 1

• Singapore rank 126th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 World Press Freedom Index
• Singapore scored 48/100 in Freedom House’s 2024 Freedom in the World report

Question 2

Why does Singapore have a restrictive political climate? (POFMA/ FICA)

Answer 2

• Via the Protection against Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), the state reserves the right to “correct” or purge online content if it deems to be “false” or decides that it must “prevent a diminution of public confidence in […] the government”
• The Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act with its broad wording effectively hands arbitrary power to the Singaporean government to harass and prosecute entities based on vague allegations of foreign meddling in domestic affairs

Question 3

Argue how Singapore’s media system is untenable.

Answer 3

• Singapore’s media environment is a duopoly between two major conglomerates — MediaCorp, which is controlled by the state-owned investment company Temasek, and SPH Media Trust, which receives direct funding from the government. The chairman of the latter is also a former People’s Action Party (PAP) government minister.

Question 4

Talk about independent media in Singapore.

Answer 4

• Independent media outlets are vanishingly few, being limited to Mothership, New Naratif, The Online Citizen (which lost its license in 2021 and is now publishing from Taiwan), and a scattering of others

Question 5

How much faith do Singaporeans have with the government?

Answer 5

• In the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer report, trust in the government sat at a commendable 77%

Question 6

How trusted are the media institutes in Singapore?

Answer 6

• Per the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024, Channel NewsAsia has been remained the most trusted brand in Singapore since 2019 at 74%, one percentage point higher than The Straits Times, which came in second at 73%.

Question 7

Are Singaporeans getting their news from diverse sources?

Answer 7

• According to Reuters Institute’s 2024 Digital News Report, 63% of Singaporeans do so via social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and WhatsApp
• (… interrupts the monopoly traditional mainstream media previously enjoyed in influencing the way we think… )

Question 8

Do Singaporeans believe social media can hold those in power accountable?

Answer 8

• According to a survey by Blackbox Research in 2021, 75% of Singaporeans think social media can hold those in power accountable

Question 9

Evidence for Singaporean youths are savvy.

Answer 9

• In the same 2021 Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) report [mentioned in another evidence] on. Singaporeans’ susceptibility to fake news classified a large portion of youths as “savvy”
• (… tech-literate generation forming an ever-larger part of society…)