Singapore blocks xenophobic posts targeting Indians

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs has directed social media platforms to block posts targeting the Indian community, which falsely claimed that Singapore was being “overrun” by Indians. The investigation revealed the content likely originated from a China-based platform.

Singapore: Singaporean authorities have ordered social media platforms to block access to several online posts that were targeting the Indian community by suggesting that the island nation was being overrun by Indians, a report said.

Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement on Saturday that the investigation revealed that the content most likely originated from a platform based in China and was subsequently carried on other platforms and websites.

---

According to MHA, images and videos of crowded streets in Little India of Singapore and religious festivals in Pagoda Street were selectively used in the content to back the claim of Singapore being “overcrowded” with Indians, The Straits Times reported.

MHA said that this content undermines Singapore’s model of multiculturalism.

“Singapore firmly opposes nativism and xenophobia. Any attempt to pit one community against another here must be firmly rejected. These attacks coming from a foreign source are doubly unacceptable,” the Ministry said.

MHA, along with the Singapore Police Force, assessed that these posts are likely to be an offence under Section 298A of the Penal Code, which deals with crimes related to knowingly promoting feelings of enmity, hatred, or ill-will between different groups on grounds of race, or committing an act prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different racial groups in Singapore.

According to the report, the content also contains derogatory and demeaning language to refer to the Indian community, such as “concentration of curry”, comparing the increases in the numbers of the Indian community.

“I would say any country seeking to safeguard its social cohesion would agree with us that such content is unacceptable and would take a similar stance to safeguard their own society,” Law Minister Edwin Tong said on Saturday.

Disabling directions under the Online Criminal Harms Act for the content have been issued for the content on YouTube, Facebook, and X by the police.

The posts were also primarily in Chinese.

“These are malicious efforts to sow discord by inciting ill-will against the Indian community in Singapore,” the MHA noted.

“We urge Singaporeans to be discerning when consuming and disseminating information online, and to reject all attempts to divide our society,” it added.