The Redwire Team: Don’t say we anyhow whack hor, it’s the Straits Times who started this whole “whack the fake news as though we never make mistakes” witch hunt first. See here.
This comes as Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said he’s going to come up with tougher laws to clamp down on those who disseminate fake news.
Nope, we don’t condone fake news nor do we indulge in it (except for the occasional drunken April Fools’ prank lah).
The fine line between fake news and erroneous news lies in the intention to deceive.
And looking at the type of examples cited by The Straits Times (again, see here), you could very well call State Media guilty of “fake” news too.
Because those fellas make the same damn mistakes.
So essentially, it’s a case of the pot calling the kettle black – except that in this case it’s huge pot and with several pot-bellied reporters and civil servant-esque managers.
(READ: Shanmugam Announces New Laws to Outlaw Fake News)
Don’t believe? See below:
(1) TODAY Mispresents Ah Low
TODAY newspaper misrepresented a speech by Workers’ Party chief Low Thia Khiang by putting down something he didn’t say. How do you misrepresent someone when the whole speech is there for you to read and re-read?
(2) Straits Times Says People Voted for S R Nathan
You have a reporter, who sends stories to a copy editor, who sends it to the editor – so that’s 3 condoms you’re wearing for protection (unlike us, we give you the news raw, babe). So how did the Straits Times fellas let this quote in? An oversight, or an attempt to make it seem like S R Nathan wasn’t elected via a walkover election? Ok lah, we believe it was an oversight.
(3) Channel NewsAsia Twists Facts on Rats
CNA took an interview, spun it differently, and got exposed by the person who gave the interview. Mis-interpretation, or mischievous misrepresentation to suit the story? More likely mis-interpretation, we think and hope.
(4) Straits Times Misrepresents the Health Ministry
Die lah, this time ST got it wrong with a gahmen body! And to add insult to injury, it got called out by rival paper Today. Wah lau eh.
(5) CNA White-Washes Shanmugam’s Comments on AHTC
The sin of commission is just as bad as the sin of omission. Right or not, CNA?
(6) STOMP Frames NS Man
Before we forget, there’s STOMP. Remember who this poor NS boy who was “framed” for not giving up his seat on the train? Yeah. That story was exposed as a total fraud.
(7) STOMP Frames Restaurant for “Rat Infestation”
STOMP again (we’ll try to limit Stomp entries because they’re run into a long list). But to summarise, STOMP says Business A had rats, shows photo of rat. Truth turns out to be that the place where this took place was not Business A. Eh goondu, people business suffer losses you compensate them ah?
(8) Alamak, STOMP Frames SMRT!
Pai seh hor, just one more on STOMP because we can’t resist. False reporting again from the SPH-owned “news” website.
(9) Straits Times Misrepresented Interviewee in Hougang-Whacking Story
Interviewee cries foul over the way the Straits Times mangled what he said to fit in its story on Hougang being the worst-hit of dengue clusters in Singapore. See ah boy, you said your family told you not to talk to reporters. You should have listened lah.
(10) Straits Times Accused of Bullying Young Girls
“According to Miss Vanessa Yap who posted under Facebook name ‘Vanny Kitchlynn’ two days ago, the video was “horribly taken out of context” and that it was a “misrepresentation” of what really went on that night of the shoot and interview session.” How much more “fake” can news get?
In short, as the old saying goes, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Tio boh?
