The Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods published an extensive 317-page report detailing the prevalence of fake news and how they plan to counter it. For those who are smart enough not to waste time reading the entire document, here is a condensed version of the committee's recommendations.
1. Government should introduce a national framework that educates Singaporeans to build information and media literacy
2. Government should support ground-up initiatives or campaigns to widen effective outreach
3. News organisations, tech companies, learning institutes should train journalists in news accuracy
4. Journalists should equip themselves with knowledge of how disinformation campaigns work
5. Mainstream and alternative media should achieve the same journalism standards in terms of accuracy. fairness and integrity
6. Government should think about how it will support recommendations 3 to 5
7. Organisations promoting social cohesion should step up to debunk or clarify any online falsehoods that threaten social cohesion
8. Government should research on society's vulnerabilities
9. Public institutions should respond to online falsehoods in a timely manner
10. Review existing efforts to improve transparency and communication
11. Media organisations should have a united fact-checking initiative to counter fake news
12. Government should have the power to stop and counter fake news
13. Government should foresee additional measures that may be necessary to safeguard election integrity
14. Government should have early warning mechanisms to combat fake news
15. Government should consider ways to de-monetise or disrupt advertising revenue to those who spread fake news
16. In certain instances, criminal sanctions should be imposed on those who go about fake news
17, 18. Tech companies should develop resources to prevent the spread of fake news online
19. Tech companies have to be transparent and accountable to their audience by carrying out audits and voluntary reporting
20. Government should consider legislation to regulate tech companies to achieve recommendations 17 to 19
21. Government should support start-ups that help ensure the integrity of our online information ecosystem
22. Government should come up with a national-level strategy to counter State-sponsored disinformation campaigns
That looks like a lot of effort from everybody, so the Government should stop overreacting to everything and wasting our time.
And don't worry, we're Legit. ;)
