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Singapore blocks 10 fake websites ahead of elections to prevent ‘hostile’ disinformation campaigns

The Ministry of Home Affairs said the portals used AI-generated content that could be used to influence public opinion

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Singapore has blocked 10 inauthentic websites that may be used to spread disinformation campaigns against the city state. Photo: Reuters
Agence France-Presse
Singapore on Tuesday blocked access to 10 websites linked to foreign actors which the government said could be used to mount “hostile” disinformation campaigns against the city state.
The move comes as Singapore prepares for elections to be held before November next year.

“These 10 inauthentic websites have been observed to masquerade as Singapore websites by spoofing or using terms associated with Singapore in their domain name and incorporating familiar local features and visuals,” the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.

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“They also carried content on Singapore, some of which were generated by artificial intelligence. These are common tactics used by malicious foreign actors: build websites which can attract a local following, that may subsequently be used as platforms to mount HICs,” it said, referring to hostile information campaigns.

Two of the websites use domain names closely related or similar to legitimate Singapore-linked websites.

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They carried content “that may mislead their audience into thinking that the content is reflective of official positions or local sentiments,” MHA said.

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