Singapore Appeals Anti Misinformation Law Following Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s Tweet on Covid19 Variant

Following all the confusion regarding the new Covid variant that people are saying was first found in Singapore, the Singaporean government has now appealed for an anti misinformation law, the POFMA or Protection from Online Falsehoods & Manipulation Act.

The Singapore health ministry requested the POFMA office to take an action and issue a ‘General Correction Directions’ to social media giants like Twitter and Facebook. This decision was taken following a Twitter post made by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal regarding the Covid19 variant. A notice was issued which Officials claim is not directed towards the Delhi CM. It is a general notice for the Singapore citizens urging them to not believe in false data.

A Correction Notice to all end-users in Singapore should be issued which confirms that there is no new variant found in the country. Also, there is no evidence of a Covid variant being found in Singapore that is deadly for children.

Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal Urges Centre To Stop Singapore Flights

The notice read, “there is a false statement circulating online which implies that a new, previously unknown variant of COVID-19 originated in Singapore and/or risks, spreading to India from Singapore.” Clarification was made that, “the strain that is prevalent in many of the COVID-19 cases detected in Singapore in recent weeks is the B.1.617.2 variant, which originated from India.”

All this happened after a tweet by Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal went viral. In the post addressed to the centre, Kejriwal urges the government to suspend all Singapore flights. He shared that there is a new Covid variant that has been detected in Singapore. Adding that this variant can be harmful to children. 

सिंगापुर में आया कोरोना का नया रूप बच्चों के लिए बेहद ख़तरनाक बताया जा रहा है, भारत में ये तीसरी लहर के रूप में आ सकता है।

केंद्र सरकार से मेरी अपील:
1. सिंगापुर के साथ हवाई सेवाएं तत्काल प्रभाव से रद्द हों
2. बच्चों के लिए भी वैक्सीन के विकल्पों पर प्राथमिकता के आधार पर काम हो

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 18, 2021

“The new form of Corona that came to Singapore is being said to be extremely dangerous for children, in India it may come as a third wave,” read the tweet. He further urged the centre to cancel all the air services with Singapore.

This tweet led to an issue, with the Singaporean foreign ministry taking the matter to the Indian high commissioner. Commenting under the post, External affairs minister Dr. S Jaishankar said that the tweet made by Delhi CM was extremely ‘irresponsible’ and that it can “damage long-standing partnerships.”