By Choo Zheng Xi / Editor-at-large
On 6 March 2010, Mr Gopalan Nair asserted that sources had informed him that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew had suffered a massive heart attack and had been warded in intensive care at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Less than a day later, after exciting interest across the whole blogosphere, Mr Nair admitted that it was a hoax.
Whatever political point Mr Nair was trying to make by his despicable joke is likely to be overshadowed by the backlash against Mr Nair from ordinary Singaporeans.
Mr Nair’s initial post was picked up by almost a dozen blogs, making the headlines on several popular Singaporean websites.
In response to Mr Nair’s post, TOC sent out requests for two of our writers to be on standby to attend Monday’s parliamentary sitting and look out for motorcades or unusually tight security at SGH. We also asked all our writers to closely monitor online forums like Channelnewsasia, Sammyboy, the comment sections of Temasek Review, and several public Facebook groups for leads.
TOC also emailed the Prime Minister’s office, wrote to Mr Nair requesting a phone interview, and contacted several sources who have connections to SGH.
All this turned out to be a waste of energy, and many involved in chasing Mr Nair’s wild goose felt outraged.
Wasted interest and effort aside, it is completely tasteless to deliberately lie about someone’s death regardless of how much you despise him.
TOC has been a consistent proponent of community moderation, arguing that the abuse of free speech in the form of spreading deliberate misinformation has the potential to cement the public’s perception of the internet as untrustworthy. Further, it provides the Government with the best excuse to regulate the internet to prevent such misinformation from spreading.
TOC has never held back from attacking the government’s positions or questioning public authority, but we have always made these criticisms on the basis of our belief in contributing to a political culture of transparency and accountability. Deliberate misinformation from any side of the political aisle is inimical to that culture.
Mr Nair, who styles himself a “Singapore dissident”, should know that no dissident from even the most repressive dictatorships would deliberately put out blatant lies that can be easily debunked. All this would do is undermine the credibility of the dissident in question.
That should be Mr Nair’s fate.
Mr Nair, when revealing his hoax, asked:
“Is it not stupid that a mere blog like mine, which is not a major newspaper and not a news source of any major importance can be taken so seriously and cause such worry and uncertainly?”
The online community could do Mr Nair a favor by taking him at his word now and completely ignoring anything else he has to say. We would be stupid indeed to do otherwise.
Gopalan Nair’s orginal blog post, which he updated on Monday to reflect that it had all been a grand hoax, as well as his latest blog post, which effectively makes a mockery of all those who believed him:
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Comic insert courtesy of the Singaporean Says blog
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Bravo and well said.
The whole episode is like the boy who cried wolf. Not only that, after being criticised by the villagers, the boy now turns around and accuse the villagers of not responding fast enough to disprove his lies! What cheek!
Such stunts damages the credibility of TR (if they have any to begin with). Not only that, it can impact on the credibility of other local political blogs. If TOC, for example, break a similar story, will it be met with skepticism because of TR’s publicity stunt? Will Singaporeans start to doubt everything that comes out from the blogosphere because of the recklessness of TR?
This will only sabotage the effort to set up alternative news sources in the blogosphere. It is difficult enough to get more Singaporeans to take local political blogs seriously. TR’s boo-boo will only make it that much more difficult.
Phillip @ Mar 11
TR was just quoting from the source that is – GN’s blog. What’s wrong with doing that? They are not insunuating anything. What has that got to do with credibility? may I ask.
The only reason why people cry wolf is because they do not know the terrible cost it entails to others. If they know the real cost. They will think twice and even thrice.
Doesnt TR stand for Temasek Review which was previously know as Wayang club? Isn’t this also the same site that likes to name and shame people when they lose arguments with them by publishing the IP’s of their posters? I am very glad I dont have those problems here in The Online Citizen. That’s another thing you lose when you cry wolf. Trust.
Mr Nair is unable to take on MM Lee, so he can only comfort himself that his opponent is ageing.
PM Lee does not seem to have a very strong leadership style and the PAP ministers have declined in quality. There will be a political vacuum and I hope more capable leaders, men and women of integrity and courage will step up and join in the political arena.
Didn’t TR follow up and further fanned the fire unnecessarily by saying something along the lines of PMO having not shown any concrete evidence to prove that LKY’s was never admitted to SGH. A sorry attempt at rumour mongering imho, especially given that it came AFTER Nair had already established it to be a hoax. It’s a bit like spreading rumours that ABC has a small prick and then “encourage” others to opine as such using the premise that ABC has not whipped out his donger as “concrete evidence” to the contrary.
Brendan @ Mar 11
It has everything to do with credibility. What did TOC do when they found out? Tried to make sure that what Gopalan said was true by sending their team out on the streets. What did Temasek Review do? Immediately reprint the article without checking.
TOC did the right thing. TR dropped the ball.
TOC did the responsible thing by trying to verify the facts before reporting it. It’s a shame some other sites didn’t do the same.
I dont see what all the bloody fuss is about, its obvious that it was intended to be satirical.
I think that might have been what Gopalan meant when he said it was a “Hoax”. You guys are really blowing it out of proportion and turning him into some H G Wells figure really.
TR has always carried poorly-written and extremely biased articles. After this hoax was exposed, TR still tried to milk the issue for cheap points. TR also shows its immaturity by constantly calling for others to apologise, and yet when TR is in the wrong, it will always attempt to cover up its error by re-writing the original story.
Thank goodness I am living in the west now and I am able to appreciate GN’s humour, and his contribution to Singaporeans awareness to the current strongman regime.
Are Singaporeans so defenseless in politics. You people only have freedom, as long a you remain obediently in a cage, like my pet hamsters.
Just hope TOC does not turn out to be a fascist’s publication on transparency and accountability within its confine of a cage.
Not as big a lie, as the lies of the PAPs.
Gopalan Nair did not lie. He did not know the truth.
Actually, Lee Kuan Yew went for a blood cleaning process. I believe his conditions was either infected by serious germs due to deteriorating immunity system or toxic build-up in his body.
Looks like the bigger liar is Lee Kuan Yew who does not want to disclose the seriousness of his health.
Mahathir @ 17 July 2010
What is wrong with not informing the country with the seriousness of his health? What is wrong with not letting the country worry and panick about everything over his health? If that is his intention, then how does that make Lee Kuan Yew a liar?
GN did not know the truth yet he spreaded the rumors. That’s assumption about a national issue. In another sense, it IS lying.