Gutzy Asia’s pages Declared Online Locations due to Multiple Online Falsehoods

1. Gutzy Asia’s (“Gutzy”) website and Gutzy’s social media pages on Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) (the “online locations”) have been declared as Declared Online Locations [1] (“DOLs”) under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act 2019 (“POFMA”). The Declaration was issued by the Minister for Communications and Information on 11 June 2024 and will come into effect on 12 June 2024.

2. The Declaration was made following multiple falsehoods communicated on the online locations. The Declaration will be in effect for two years, until 11 June 2026. During the period that the Declaration is in effect, Gutzy’s website, Facebook page and X account page, are each required to carry a notice, stating that each of these online locations has been declared as a DOL. With the notice, visitors to these DOLs will be warned that Gutzy has a history of communicating falsehoods on these online locations (see Annex for details).

3. The Declaration does not mean that the DOLs will need to cease operations. Gutzy’s website, Facebook page and X account page may remain in operation. However, the statutory requirements under Part 5 POFMA relating to, amongst others, the de-monetisation of the DOLs, must be complied with. POFMA prohibits a person from deriving financial benefit from operating a DOL, thereby preventing operators of DOLs from profiting from the communication of falsehoods.

4. During the time that the Declaration remains in effect:

   a. It shall be an offence for the operator of the DOLs to derive financial or other material benefit from operating the online location.

   b. Service providers [2] and digital advertising intermediaries [3] must take reasonable steps to ensure that paid content that they include or cause to be included on the DOLs are not communicated in Singapore.

   c. Individuals [4] and companies must not provide financial support to the DOLs if they know or have reason to believe that by doing so, they will support, help, or promote the communication of falsehoods in Singapore on the DOLs.

5. Members of the public are advised to be alert to Gutzy’s history of communicating misinformation on these online locations, and to fact-check information published at these DOLs.

[1] See Annex for an explanation of when online locations are declared as DOLs under POFMA.

[2] Examples include digital advertising agencies.

[3] Examples include advertising exchanges.

[4] This includes members of the public.

Annex - Overview of POFMA “Declared Online Locations”

1) Background on “Declared Online Locations”

• Under Section 32 of POFMA, an online location may be declared as a “Declared Online Location” (“DOL”) if:

i. It has carried three or more different false statements of fact that are the subject of active Part 3 or Part 4 Directions (e.g., POFMA Correction Directions); and

ii. At least three of these false statements of fact had been communicated on the online location within six months before the date of the Declaration.

• A notice must be published in the Government Gazette when a Declaration is issued. A registry of DOLs can be found at the POFMA Office website.

• There are nine other online locations that are currently DOLs with effect from 22 July 2023 up to 11 December 2025:

i. Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam’s (“Mr Jeyaretnam’s”) Facebook page,

ii. Mr Jeyaretnam’s Instagram page,

iii. Mr Jeyaretnam’s LinkedIn page,

iv. Mr Jeyaretnam’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account page,

v. The Ricebowl Singapore website,

vi. The Online Citizen Asia’s (“TOCA’s”) website,

vii. TOCA’s Facebook page,

viii. TOCA’s LinkedIn page, and

ix. TOCA’s X account page.

• The owner or operator of a DOL, or any person with editorial control over the DOL, may apply to the Minister for Communications and Information to vary or cancel the declaration. If the Minister refuses the application, an appeal can be made to the High Court.

2) Correction Directions issued to Gutzy

• Gutzy’s website, Facebook page and X account page have each met the requirements to be declared as a DOL. Each of these online locations have communicated at least three different false statements of fact in Singapore, which are the subject of three active POFMA Correction Directions. Two of the three active POFMA Correction Directions are in respect of five false statements of fact which had first been communicated in February 2024.