Lianhe Zaobao, 10 Feb 2018, Scholars: The public should be made aware of the motivations behind the online fake information (summarised translation)

The parliamentary Select Committee to study the problem of deliberate online falsehoods and to recommend how Singapore should respond has invited local scholars to submit proposals. Some of the invited scholars disclosed that they will share their views on the media literacy of the general public, the motives of fake news creators, and the social costs of deceptive information.

One of those invited scholars is Singapore University of Technology and Design’s Head of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Prof Lim Sun Sun.

She pointed out that increasingly, more people rely almost entirely on the Internet for information. Therefore, it is necessary for Singapore to curb the spread of deliberate online falsehoods so as to create a more robust yet inclusive cyberspace.

“Only then can citizens obtain more reliable information as well as gain a better grasp of the social issues they are debating, thus enhancing the overall quality of public opinion.”

Lim Sun Sun revealed that in her proposal, she intends to cite the challenges Singapore faces in an increasingly complex media environment, including how to raise public media literacy and apprise the populace of the political economy of deliberate online falsehoods.

“In my opinion, it is crucial to educate the public on this issue so that they understand how people are motivated to deliberately create or distribute online fake news.”