Govt orders corrections to Facebook posts

THE republic’s fake news law was invoked after unsubstantiated claims about adverse reactions to Covid-19 vaccines were posted on Facebook and published online by a website.

In a statement yesterday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said the Health Minister had instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office to issue the correction directions.

They were directed at the Facebook pages of Goh Meng Seng People’s Power Party and Goh Meng Seng (Satu Singapura), as well as the Singapore Uncensored website.

Posts published on April 2 on the Facebook pages of Goh Meng Seng People’s Power Party and Goh Meng

Seng (Satu Singapura) implied that the Covid-19 vaccination had caused or substantially contributed to a doctor in Singapore suffering a stroke.

The same Facebook accounts also published posts on April 7 implying that Covid-19 vaccination had caused or substantially contributed to the death of an 81-year-old man here.

MOH said that same day, Singapore Uncensored published an article on its website stating that an 81-year-old man had died from alleged vaccination complications.

The article was also shared on the website’s Facebook page on April 7.

“These allegations are false. As of April 14, there is no credible evidence for an increased risk of heart attack or stroke with the PfizerBioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines which are currently approved and offered in Singapore,” said MOH.

It added that the medical team caring for the doctor had assessed that the doctor’s current condition was highly unlikely to be related to the vaccination.

As for the 81-year-old man, MOH said the cause of death was ischaemic heart disease.

“The Health Sciences Authority Forensic Medicine Division has reported that based on the post-mortem, there was no evidence of acute anaphylaxis or an allergic reaction at the injection site of the Covid-19 vaccine,” it said.

Both Goh and Singapore Uncensored have complied with the correction directions.