Bill passed to ban digitally manipulated content of candidates during elections

New law to help counter misinformation does not extend to private, domestic chats

- Chin Soo Fang

Mrs Teo said it also does not extend to private or domestic communications shared between individuals or within a closed group such as group chats with family or a small group of friends, or news published by authorised news agencies.

The legislation will also provide a defence for a person who reshares messages and links without knowing that the content had been manipulated, she added.

The move comes ahead of a general election that must be held by November 2025.

Mrs Teo said candidates should also step forward to clarify and debunk content that they believe misrepresents them.

The Government will use a range of detection tools to assess if the content has been generated or manipulated through digital means, she said.

"We have placed significant weight on candidates' declarations to the Returning Officer under this new prohibition, as a candidate is in the best position to speedily clarify if the content is a truthful and accurate representation of himself or herself," said Mrs Teo.