Authorities in Singapore directed major social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and X on Saturday to block access to content that targets the Indian community and undermines the country’s model of multiculturalism.
Police said the directive issued by Singapore’s Home Ministry targeted 14 specific posts that appeared to promote the narrative that Indians were overrunning Singapore.
Singapore’s Indian-origin President Tharman Shanmugaratnam appeared in a post to claim that there is an over-representation of Indians in the city-state government.
While the directive did not say whether anyone was behind promoting the narrative, it noted that posts began circulating online last month “in the Chinese information space that… [suggested] “Singapore is showing concern about our cultural identity and racial politics.”
This was followed by online content containing “sensationalist narratives about Singapore’s cultural diversity and suggesting that Singapore was once controlled by Indians.”
Investigations revealed that the content “most likely originated from a China-based platform and was later transferred to other platforms and websites.” There have also been “deliberate efforts” to push more such content into Singapore’s local information space.
“From what we know so far, the content came from abroad,” Edwin Tong, Singapore’s Second Minister for Home Affairs, told reporters.
The Home Ministry also said that these social media posts suggest that Indian-origin politicians in Singapore, “whose numbers are growing, will work to favor Indian immigrants”, and that Singapore’s culture is “essentially Chinese, and the government’s approach of ‘decoupling’ from China while neglecting the threat of a growing Indian community would lead to an adverse outcome”.
The posts also noted that “Singapore’s multiracial policy is a façade intended to appeal to Western values” and “its stability cannot be attributed to its multiracial policy, but rather to its predominantly Chinese demographics.”
There have been several cases in recent years of social media posts targeting Indians and Indian-origin communities in Asia that originated in the Chinese information sphere, people familiar with the matter said.
The order to block social media posts, including videos, was made under the Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA), and Facebook, YouTube and
“These videos attack our multiracial society and try to divide people based on race. However, that is not who we are. Every community in Singapore here is valued, and every person has an equal place,” said Tong, who is also Singapore’s Law Minister.
“These videos strike at the foundation that makes Singapore home for all of us, and they undermine the foundation of our society,” he added.
Tong said the Singapore government does not tolerate narratives that seek to undermine racial harmony in the country, “especially when promoted by foreigners.”
The official guidance noted that Singapore strongly opposes “hostility to immigrants and xenophobia,” and made clear that any attempt to pit one community against another “must be strongly rejected.” She added: “These attacks coming from a foreign source are doubly unacceptable.”
However, Tung said there is currently no evidence to suggest that this is a coordinated campaign by any government. He said investigations showed that the content was created organically by many foreign internet users.
The posts included photos and footage of crowded streets in Singapore’s Little India district, “possibly taken on a weekend when migrant workers have their day off,” and footage of Indian worshipers at a religious festival on Pagoda Street, to support claims that the country is “overcrowded” with Indians, the directive said.
The posts used “derogatory and insulting language to refer to the Indian community in Singapore”, including comparing increases in their numbers to the “curry concentration”.
“These are malicious efforts to sow discord by inciting ill will against the Indian community in the country,” the directive said. “This includes Indian migrant workers in sectors such as construction who are here to earn a decent living. They contribute to Singapore’s growth and development, and are important members of our society.”
The social media posts constitute a violation of Section 298A of the Singapore Penal Code for “intentionally promoting feelings of hostility, hatred or ill will between different groups on the basis of race, or committing an act prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different racial groups in Singapore”.
This crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years and a fine.
Tong also said the Singapore government will continue to monitor the sites closely and will not hesitate to take further steps “if we deem it to be in Singapore’s interest.”
