Singapore website The Online Citizen goes offline after funding disclosure row with government

Singapore’s media regulator said the popular website The Online Citizen failed to fully comply with funding disclosure requirements

Founded in 2006, the website gained a reputation over the years as a platform for alternative political views in a media landscape dominated by pro-establishment voices

Reading Time:3 minutes

=== PHOTO CAPTURED ONLINE===Terry Xu (right), chief editor of the Online Citizen, at a public hearing in Singapore on the definitions of facts and truth. Photo: govsg youtube screenshot

Published: 3:59pm, 16 Sep 2021Updated: 8:01pm, 16 Sep 2021

The Online Citizen, one of Singapore’s oldest independent political news websites, went offline on Thursday, hours ahead of a government-imposed deadline for it to suspend operations for failing to fully declare its funding sources after a long dispute.

The development comes just days after Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s government tabled new legislation targeting foreign interference and funding of local politics.

The action taken against The Online Citizen, founded in 2006, pertains to its disclosure obligations under the country’s existing Broadcasting Act.

Critics of the long-ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) said the website’s legal predicament once again displayed authorities’ intolerance for dissent.

With the mainstream media widely seen as pro-establishment, The Online Citizen over the years grew a reputation for offering independent commentary and reporting on local politics, with readership usually spiking during general elections.

The website could not be accessed on Thursday afternoon.

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