Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

reuters.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 251 posts

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#81

Post by ponyfleisch »

robomartin wrote: post #47

I have a lateral question about Singapore. Everything I have read about the country says that it is one of the best in the world for business and, in particular, startups. Yet some of the commentary here leads me to believe there's a dark side to the reality of this nation. Anyone with first hand knowledge care to comment on this? I am puzzled because it so happens we might have to do some business in Singapore and a…

pro:

* Many overseas educated locals helping with cultural cross pollination

* Locals often live with their parents until their late twenties (when they get married), so there are a lot of young people with low personal burn rates

* Lots of government funding and plenty of private capital around as well

* A good amount of big tech companies have offices here

* Major finance hub

* Very business friendly regulations

* Cost of living is reasonably scalable (meaning you can slum it out here or live like a king, depending on your success)

* Good access to Indonesia, Vietnam etc. for talent

* Thriving e-commerce ecosystem in Southeast Asia

* Decent meet up ecosystem

con:

* Rent is expensive (both residential and office space)

* Foreigner visas are not always easy to come by

I might add more later in a separate comment if i can think of more.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#82

Post by pjc50 »

ShorsHammer wrote: post #16
mochialex wrote: post #3

This is how fake democracy works.

Would you say that Singapore's elections are faked? And the results invalid?

The elections are probably real. It's the politics that are faked and the opposition hampered.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#83

Post by Barrin92 »

michaelmrose wrote: post #2

It's unconscionable to subordinate US companies and Australian citizens to a feckless foreign power. If Singapore why not every other nation on earth?

It's actually perfectly reasonable to subject American companies to the laws of nations they operate in unless you're suggesting they ought to act in imperial fashion and ignore the law of sovereign nations.

It goes without saying that the same is, of course, true for foreign companies in the US.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#84

Post by archibaldJ »

azernik wrote: post #73
dehrmann wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Singapore strikes me as another outcome of a China-like single-party state. It's somewhat authoritarian, somewhat free. It's big on national unity, but unlike China, fully acknowledges the distinct cultures there. It's a very unique place.

I have heard a China expert claim that this is the long-term goal of the Chinese Communist Party - a rich, authoritarian state with economic and (non-political) personal freedoms.

A friend of mine in China talked about how Alicloud is pitching blockchains to the Chinese government for some internal uses. And the interesting thing is that the Singapore gov has already launched a blockchain marketplace for renewable energy and it's not a fintech PR move but a happening phenomenon right now where I've got friends moonlighting as energy salesman. So yeah, that's definitely what's happening now - a rich, authoritarian state with economic freedom in the making. Every year there are a number of selected Chinese officials that would visit Singapore as exchange students to study about city planning and the art of governance.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#85

Post by xuki »

ShorsHammer wrote: post #16
mochialex wrote: post #3

This is how fake democracy works.

Would you say that Singapore's elections are faked? And the results invalid?

No, it's certainly not faked. There is no viable oppositions, the reason for this is a whole different story. Many of my Singaporean friends would GLADLY vote for an opposition party to keep PAP in check but they simply don't match the quality of PAP's candidates.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#86

Post by choonway »

My prediction is that Facebook is going to resort to "this content is banned in your country" route.

Only way to access this would be through VPN... if everybody in the country uses VPN, they govt would probably start copying the Great firewall of China.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#87

Post by apatters »

ulfw wrote: post #63
diveanon wrote: post #53

Why am I not surprised that it is Singapore doing this. That country is an authoritarian nanny state disguised as Disney Land. I have visited many times and have lots of friends there. Nobody cares about freedom of the press because they are well paid and comfortable. They have truly figured out how to placate the masses.

It's interesting to see people in the west often lauding Singapore for that and vilifying China if they do the same.

You statement seems like whataboutism, a logical fallacy that attempts to discredit someone else by making an false accusation of hypocrisy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism

In truth a common Western position is that China and Singapore are not equivalent because despite its problems, Singapore still commits fewer human rights violations than China. This position is based on extensive research and observation by multiple NGOs which rank countries by the severity of their human rights violations, as a starter point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_freedom_indices

I note from your HN profile that you have a number of professional connections to China. Perhaps it is in your personal interest to support the Chinese state?

Given the other details of your background, it looks like you've probably benefited from living under regimes with much better human rights records than China's. I would encourage you to have compassion for people who are not born with the right to free expression, the right to practice their own religion, etc. and to recognize that China and Singapore are by no means the same.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#88

Post by qeng-ho »

I'm Singaporean, and completely not surprised to see this appear on HN.

As with many places, the situation in my country is a bit more nuanced than a simple "the ruling party has ruled the country since 1965". Civilisation is the surrender of varying degrees of civil liberty for security and safety, and over here we definitely surrender more degrees of civil liberty for the safety and security of our streets. As another user put it, essentially a benevolent dictatorship, emphasis on the benevolent. For the most part, the ruling party has done a good job with the administration of the government. Things are fast and efficient. Is it worth the trade? It depends on your perspective. Even as a liberal, I agree that the paternalism of the government is not without its merits.

There were quite a lot of push-back on the POFMA (what the fake news law is called) among the people, though our politicians, no doubt because of their same-party membership, barely discussed anything concrete in our parliamentary debates. In the end, the law was passed because of course it would be.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#89

Post by riffic »

inglor wrote: post #40
riffic wrote: post #37

Journalists need to look at alternative platforms, such as those under the control of their own organization. The Fediverse is a good place to be.

I recently joined WikiTribune which is supposed to solve just that. It's still invite-only with a huge mailing list but you can get in early if you donate (I donate). If anyone wants an invite email me at username @ gmail and I will try to send everyone invites (I have like 200) when I get back from JSConf.

I wonder if Jimbo Wales would consider white labeling this app or in providing managed nodes to media / content providers (in the way G Suite provides managed email services to third party orgs). There's a need to maintain control of the namespace and content and you lose that on yet another walled garden service.

Re: Singapore tells Facebook to correct post under new fake news law

#90

Post by rorykoehler »

qeng-ho wrote: post #88

I'm Singaporean, and completely not surprised to see this appear on HN. As with many places, the situation in my country is a bit more nuanced than a simple "the ruling party has ruled the country since 1965". Civilisation is the surrender of varying degrees of civil liberty for security and safety, and over here we definitely surrender more degrees of civil liberty for the safety and security of our streets. As anot…

I’ve lived in Singapore and agree with your post but I also have an uneasy feeling that it won’t last much longer. This government have and continue to make some big (IMO) mistakes especially in the areas of planning and mobility. Hopefully this is managed better by the next government.
Post reply on HN