Colors: Blue Color

Singapore is the fifth Asia-Pacific country that Facebook has expanded the fact-checking programme to. Facebook will be working with international news organisation Agence France-Presse (AFP) to reduce the spread of misinformation and quality of news people find online.

This programme has also been launched in Philippines, Indonesia, India and Australia. The programme was first launched in the United Kingdom and States in 2016.

AFP will be verifying the accuracy of news on Facebook that are being spread in Singapore. Stories in English, Mandarin and Malay will be monitored. 

The programme works by identifying potential fake news based on user feedback and through their own algorithms. A fact-checker will also proactively identify fake news. AFP will then review the accuracy of the articles. If the article is rated as a fake news, the article will appear lower in the news feed.

Articles that have already been fact-checked will have a label attached as well.

This comes after the announcement of the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Bill in Singapore. Many Singaporeans have displayed their concerns over the new bill as they are worried that the Government of the day will use it to their own advantage and dictate what is real and fake by themselves.

Are you ready for this new change in Facebook? 

Monica Baey has spoken up again. In a recent Instagram post, she wrote that the National University of Singapore has finally acknowledged that its disciplinary system was inadequate in dealing with her perpetrator, Nicholas Lim. 

From what the school told her, it has convened a town hall to gather feedback and is in the midst of forming a Review Committee to implement the nececessary changes. 

Baey was aware that her case has been blown up on social media. She has seen all kinds of comments, even those against her, but feels that people are entitled to their own opinion. 

She stands by the fact that NUS' punishment was too light. However, she hopes that people will stop unnecessary online harassment towards Lim and his family.  

"All I will say in response to that is I do genuinely hope that he is receiving the proper support he needs to rehabilitate, and that the unnecessary online harassment towards him and his loved ones will stop. He does not deserve to be bullied online by trolls, and he definitely does not deserve to have his punishment met out by anyone on the internet - including me."

She believes that Singaporeans should not be fixated on thinking about what should be done to him but rather, what are the changes people want to see in today's society.

She sees this as a serious issue and urged victims of voyeurism or harassment to stop wallowing in their worries and start fighting for themselves. 

"The paranoia never goes away... I get so frustrated that I break down in the shower sometimes because I'm so tired of worrying. I wasn't even touched by him and yet I feel like my entire body has been violated. The feeling of disgust still sits inside of me."

To those who continue to be affected by such incidents, do not be afraid to do yourself justice. Monica Baey's courage has won her some change and everyone else can do the same to make society a better place.

monica baey instagram post closure nicholas lim NUS singapore

Have you ever dropped your valuables into drains? What about those drains that are made out of concrete, too heavy for a single person to carry and open? That was what happened to a netizen Ophelia Lee. She dropped her keys into a small gap between concrete drains, those normally found on bridges over canals.

Fortunately for her, a foreign worker happened to pass by and saw her trying to see if her keys have disappeared into the abyss. The foreign worker then immediately got to work and tried to fish her keys out for her. He then gathered his friends together to lift the concrete slab so that they can retrieve the keys. 

Through this experience, Lee remembered what her lecturer told her before:

"these men paid a lot just to get the opportunity to come Singapore to work for a better future, why would they risk to commit crime and be sent back to their origin country?”

She asked other netizens to share her story around to spread the message that we should not judge people based on the colour of their skin and their race.

You can see the full series of her photos and videos taken during the incident here:

In Singapore, it is very rare to see a shopping mall that is literally empty from human traffic. Even if people do not go malls to actually shop anymore, there will still be crowd of people queuing up for dining in a restaurant or a fast food joint. But Big Box in Jurong East is out to prove everyone wrong, that there is actually a mall in Singapore where ghost town is an apt description.

And due to an almost non-existant footfall at the mall, the shops there are obviously not doing too great, and the mall itself was recently put up for sale. It is not known why the crowds are not coming to the mall anymore, and how it manages to do the impossible in Singapore, by being an actual ghost town in a country that has barely space to accomodate its residents without having a sardine crush at anytime, anywhere.

One thing is for certain, the ghost town will be gobbled up and redeveloped into other uses pretty soon in land scarce Singapore. 

A 37 year old man, named as Jackson Wong, sadly fell to his death on Friday 26 April, as he was looking for his pet hamster after it supposedly ran out of his house. Wong was an alumni of the Association for Persons with Special Needs (APSN).

Wong was reportedly at his home which he shared with his parents and three siblings in Toa Payoh North Blk 200 when he fell off the 8th storey unit from the kitche window. Despite his family being at home at the time, the tragedy occurred so suddenly for anyone to react. 

It was not clear how he fell out, but paramedics pronounced him dead on the scene. While investigations are ongoing, those that knew Wong from APSN described him as an endearing person who always put others before himself. 

Our deepest condolences go out to his grieving family. RIP, Jackson.

Residents at The Floravale, a condominium located in Jurong West, have found that their home addresses have been illegally used by foreign workers as their registered address. Those affected found out through MOM's Foreign Worker Tenant Enquiry Service, which has not been fully rolled, having only been soft-launched in December last year.

The foreign workers, including their employers, are furnishing these fake addresses as a way of circumventing legislation on overcrowded rental properties for their workers.

The affected residents are understandably concerned that they may taxed for rental income, or that their addresses may be used in loan applications, with no intentions of repayment.

MOM is looking into the matter.

There are genuine concerns that need to be addressed. 

The MOM needs to review the processes to ensure that the system is robust, and plug the gaps that may be convenient for abuse. For example, where residential addresses are produced, the foreign workers and their employers must also furnish their lease agreements as proof of their rental. 

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