The Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has announced today that it has restricted 95 online accounts linked to Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui for spreading misinformation about the recent power transition in the island nation.
The baton of the top office in Singapore passed from Lee Hsien Loong to Lawrence Wong on May 15, 2024. That Wong would succeed Lee as the Prime Minister of Singapore — thus heading the “4G” team — had been known since early November 2023.
These 95 accounts, which are now restricted, “contained narratives which alleged that Singapore is in the pocket of a foreign actor”, said the MHA. Posts pushing such narratives were published in the run-up to the swearing-in of the new head of state in mid-May.
A government media release said today: “The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued Account Restriction Directions (ARDs) under the Foreign Interference (Countermeasures) Act 2021 (FICA) to five social media platforms i.e. X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, requiring them to block 95 online accounts on their platforms (refer to Annex A) from being accessible to Singapore end-users.”
The MHA release said: “Between 17 April and 10 May 2024, a network of 92 social media accounts across the five social media platforms published over 120 posts containing videos on Singapore’s leadership transition. These posts were published in a coordinated manner and contained narratives which alleged that Singapore is in the pocket of a foreign actor, and that the foreign actor was behind the scenes in the selection of Singapore’s fourth generation leader.”
Furthermore, the MHA said: “Our investigations have found that these 92 accounts are part of a network linked to a foreigner, Guo Wengui (GWG), and his affiliated organisations, the New Federal State of China and the Himalaya Supervisory Organisation (HSO). The remaining three (of the 95) accounts belong to a Singapore chapter (Himalaya Singapore) under HSO.”
The MHA said: “We had also noted that according to a study by Graphika in 2021, [Guo Wengui] is at the centre of a vast network of interrelated media entities and social media accounts that disseminate disinformation across multiple platforms.”
It added that “GWG’s network was also observed to have posted a variety of other Singapore-related narratives”.
The New Federal State of China (NFSC) is a right-wing political and lobby group created by Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon. The Himalayan Supervisory Organisation is an NGO started by Guo and Bannon in support of NFSC.
Graphika provides in-depth analyses of social media landscapes, which have served purposes, amongst others, of electoral integrity and disinformation detection.
Incidentally, this week, USA Today reported that Guo Wengui, who had close ties with Steve Bannon, former White House chief strategist in the Donald Trump Administration, had been convicted in a billion-dollar fraudulent scheme. Guo had amassed a “substantial” online following through his criticism of the Chinese government, said the report.
The news outlet said that Guo, who went by multiple aliases such as “Milaes Kwok” and “Ho Wan Kwok”, had been accused by US federal prosecutors in Manhattan of “raising more than USD 1 billion by guaranteeing his thousands of followers that they would not lose money if they invested in his various business and cryptocurrency schemes”. He was convicted on Tuesday “of nine of 12 criminal counts he faced, including racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud”.
False narratives detrimental to Singapore’s interests
As for the purpose behind these social media posts, the MHA said: “The network’s coordinated actions and precedent of using Singapore to push its agenda have demonstrated its willingness and capability to spread false narratives that are detrimental to Singapore’s interests.”
“The timing of the coordinated posts, which coincided with the period of Singapore’s political leadership transition, is indicative of deliberate planning and actions,” said the Home Ministry.
“There are grounds, therefore, to believe that GWG’s network can and may potentially harness the 95 accounts to mount hostile information campaigns (HICs) which are targeted directly at Singapore,” said the ministry.
“HICs can undermine sovereignty and social cohesion. As seen in overseas incidents, they have the potential to reduce confidence in democratic processes, sow discord in communities, and undermine trust in governments and public institutions,” it added.
Stating that the Singapore Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam “is of the opinion that the conditions under section 21(1) of FICA are satisfied”, the release informed the public that he had “authorised the issuance of ARDs to the five social media platforms”.
These ARDs require the social media platforms “to take all reasonable steps to terminate any functionality of their services that enables interactions between the specified accounts and end-users physically present in Singapore”.
In conclusion, the MHA urged Singaporeans “to be discerning when consuming and disseminating information online”.
It said: “We should always fact-check the information to see if it is accurate and authentic, against a credible source.”
