The Singapore government's corrective communication: a case study of its COVID-19 falsehood corrections

Abstract

During COVID-19, the problems of misinformation and disinformation have become exacerbated with much initial uncertainty of the virus’ origins, how governments would respond, and vaccine safety. In Singapore’s case, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) has emerged as a valuable tool to stop such falsehoods from proliferating. Thus, departing from typically legal and political examinations of it, this study seeks to evaluate the Singapore Government’s corrective communications under POFMA through the case study of its COVID-19 falsehood corrections. This is done using an exploratory framework which cross-references corrective communication literature with OECD Principles for Public Communication Responses to Mis- and Disinformation. It finds that while moderately effective in terms of clarity and being evidence-based, there is room for improvement with respect to timeliness.