Hanoi (VNA) – Singapore on May 20 orderedFacebook and Twitter to carry a correction notice to users of the social mediaplatforms in the country over what it says is a false statement about a newvirus variant originating in Singapore.
The Singaporean Ministry of Health said it was aware ofthe statement circulating online on media outlets and social media platforms,which implied that a new, previously unknown variant of COVID-19 originated inSingapore and risked spreading to India from the city-state.
The move came after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a Twitter postthis week that a new form of the virus, that was particularly harmful tochildren, had come to Singapore, and urged for a ban on flights.
Both the Singapore and Indian governments have criticisedthe opposition politician, saying his comments were not based on facts and were"irresponsible".
The correction orders were issued under Singapore's fakenews law, or the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request forcomment. Facebook, meanwhile, confirmed receipt of the order and said it waslegally compelled to issue the correction notice.
A prompt on users' Facebook news feeds linked to agovernment website that said there was no new “Singapore” variant of COVID-19.Neither is there evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is “extremely dangerousfor kids,” the health ministry said.
It said the B16172 strain found in many new COVID-19cases in Singapore was first detected in India./.
The Singaporean Ministry of Health said it was aware ofthe statement circulating online on media outlets and social media platforms,which implied that a new, previously unknown variant of COVID-19 originated inSingapore and risked spreading to India from the city-state.
The move came after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a Twitter postthis week that a new form of the virus, that was particularly harmful tochildren, had come to Singapore, and urged for a ban on flights.
Both the Singapore and Indian governments have criticisedthe opposition politician, saying his comments were not based on facts and were"irresponsible".
The correction orders were issued under Singapore's fakenews law, or the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request forcomment. Facebook, meanwhile, confirmed receipt of the order and said it waslegally compelled to issue the correction notice.
A prompt on users' Facebook news feeds linked to agovernment website that said there was no new “Singapore” variant of COVID-19.Neither is there evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is “extremely dangerousfor kids,” the health ministry said.
It said the B16172 strain found in many new COVID-19cases in Singapore was first detected in India./.
VNA
