Singapore on Thursday ordered Facebook and Twitter to warn users in the country over
what it says is a false statement about a new virus variant originating in
Singapore.

The ministry of health said it was conscious of the
statement circulating online on media channels and social media platforms,
which implied that a new, previously unknown variant of COVID-19 originated in
Singapore and risked spreading to India from the city-state.

This comes after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a Twitter post, recently said that a new form of the virus that was
particularly harmful to children had originated from Singapore, and urged for a ban on
flights.

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Both the Singapore and Indian government have criticised
Kejriwal, saying his comments were not based on facts and were
“irresponsible”.

The correction orders were issued under Singapore’s fake
news law, or the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act.

Facebook confirmed receipt of the order and said it was
legally compelled to issue the correction notice. A prompt on users’ Facebook
news feeds linked to a government website that said there was no new
‘Singapore’ variant of COVID-19.

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Neither is their evidence of any COVID-19 variant that is
‘extremely dangerous for youngsters’, the health ministry said.

It said the B16172 strain found in many new COVID-19 cases
in Singapore was first spotted in India. Twitter did not straight away respond
to a request for comment. Singapore Press Holdings’ SPH Magazines,
which also issued the order, said it had observed and posted the notice in its
HardWareZone forum.