Lianhe Zaobao, 30 Mar 2018, To combat online falsehoods we need to restore mainstream media to former “glory” (summarised translation)

Nicholas Fang, MD of Blackdot Media and Professor Lim Sun Sun, Head of HASS at SUTD, were the final expert witnesses to present evidence to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Deliberate Online Falsehoods.

Both spoke in their personal capacities. Both experts agreed that fact checking efforts needs to be stepped up as a critical bulwark against online falsehoods.

Prof Lim added that the most ideal situation is for multiple stakeholders to engage in fact checking, and this includes media and technology companies as well as civic society organisations and groups. She noted that in the preceding weeks, many witnesses had highlighted the importance of media literacy as a solution to online falsehoods. However she explained that this would not be easy to achieve because the dramatic transformations in our media landscape mean that media literacy is an increasingly multi-faceted competency.

She also stressed that for media consumers to be completely discerning, they need to constantly learn new apps and new technological affordances, they need to understand industry shifts in the forms of mergers and acquisitions among media and technology companies that have implications for how users’ personal information is shared, and they need to keep up with different emerging media genres as well.

Prof Lim shared that as a media professor herself, she finds it challenging to constantly keep up with all of these changes, let alone the average media consumer. Hence she argued for more resources to be poured into media literacy education in order to make it more sophisticated so as to better help consumers adapt to the increasingly complex media landscape.

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The parliamentary Select Committee to study the problem of deliberate online falsehoods and to recommend how Singapore should respond has invited local scholars to submit proposals. Some of the invited scholars disclosed that they will share their views on the media literacy of the general public, the motives of fake news creators, and the social costs of deceptive information.

This conference focuses on a key issue: how do we attract, support, and retain women in the technology and design sectors so as to ensure greater diversity in these critical realms? Extensive research has been undertaken on issues confronting women in the STEM disciplines to understand how their career advancement may be compromised by various factors at the structural, institutional, and individual levels. The conference features notable academics and industry professionals who will share their rich insights.

The conference discussion will be organised around four themes:

1. Attracting women to join the technology and design sectors
2. Supporting girls and women in school as they prepare for careers in technology and design
3. Retaining women in these industries through concrete policy and workplace interventions that can mitigate attrition
4. Thriving!  When women are well supported at every stage of their technology and design trajectory, their chances of having successful and rewarding careers is boosted, and these industries will also benefit from their continued participation.

The conference will be more than a forum for the exchange of ideas. It can also play a critical role in signalling the importance of the issue, as well as providing a mentoring opportunity for the women who participate. In view of SUTD’s strong and consistent efforts to recruit female students, the university has been able to maintain a healthy gender distribution that makes ours an inclusive and diverse technology and design-centric university.  To set the agenda on this critical issue, our conference involving academics, industry professionals, and students, and focuses on how we can enhance gender diversity and support women’s advancement in the technology and design sectors. We will also be launching the Women in Technology Special Interest Group of the Singapore Computer Society at our conference.

Visit conference page here

Lianhe Zaobao, 21 Jan 2018, 50 “Influencers” Promote Singapore’s Budget; Young Netizens Feel “Insulted” (summarised translation)

In an effort to reach out to younger Singaporeans, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has paid for over 50 social media “influencers” to post on Instagram to promote the Budget process. However, this move has triggered controversy among internet users, who questioned and ridiculed the action.

In a report that appeared the day before yesterday, AFP News said that Singapore had sparked mockery with Instagram ‘influencers’ for budget. Regarding this, Prof Lim Sun Sun, Head of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the Singapore University of Technology and Design said in an interview that internet users’ criticism may stem from the fact that these influencers “lack real understanding of the budget details”, and some even misspelt the name of the Ministry of Finance, giving the impression of being unprofessional.

“For these influencers who rarely comment on current affairs, they may be unable to convey the gravity of the Budget process. I do not think that our young people are apathetic towards politics; therefore they may feel insulted when the Budget is conveyed to them in such a superficial manner.”

Experts: Legislation alone will not suffice; addressing problem of online falsehoods requires a concerted effort on multiple fronts (summarised translation)

Government’s plan to appoint a select committee to discuss problem of deliberate online falsehoods signals the complexity of the problem and recognition that it will involve a broad swathe of society and views from many stakeholders.

On the appointment of a select committee at this point in time, Professor Lim Sun Sun, Head of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the Singapore University of Technology and Design felt that with many other countries including Britain, France and Germany also actively tackling this issue, Singapore can glean lessons from their experiences in terms of the nature and efficacy of different possible measures.

She explained that the last US election and the UK’s Brexit referendum manifested the interference of deliberate online falsehoods in the discussion of issues of keen public interest. Singapore may also be similarly vulnerable. “Ours is a highly connected society with an ever growing proportion of our population relying heavily if not exclusively on the internet for information. In light of such circumstances, coupled with the growing sophistication of technological tools for the manipulation of news and fabrication of online falsehoods, media consumers will find it increasingly challenging to differentiate genuine news from deliberate online falsehoods.”

Professor Lim also felt that education is a critical linchpin in the fight against online falsehoods. “People need to be made to understand what the motivations are for fabricating online falsehoods, and how individuals and entities that engage in such activities stand to profit.”

Interview on introducing Select Committee to tackle online falsehoods featuring Professor Lim Sun Sun

CNA: https://video.toggle.sg/en/tv-show/news/jan-2018-cna-singapore-tonight/fri-5-jan-2018/559520

Channel 8: https://video.toggle.sg/en/tv-show/news/jan-2018-ch-8-news-tonight/fri-5-jan-2018/559517

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