SINGAPORE — Five social media platforms have been issued with account restriction directions under the Foreign Interference Countermeasures Act (Fica) over user accounts linked to Guo Wengui, a businessman from China who has been convicted of fraud in the United States. 

These platforms are Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter). 

Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said on Friday (July 19) that the directions require the platforms to "take all reasonable steps" in blocking 95 online accounts from being accessible to Singapore users. 

The accounts on the various platforms published more than 120 video posts on Singapore's leadership transition.

"These posts were published in a coordinated manner and contained narratives, which alleged that Singapore was in the pocket of a foreign actor and that the foreign actor was behind the scenes in the selection of Singapore’s fourth-generation leader," the ministry said in a media release. It did not say who this "foreign actor" is.

"Our investigations have found that these 92 accounts are part of a network linked to a foreigner, Guo Wengui, and his affiliated organisations, the New Federal State of China and the Himalaya Supervisory Organisation (HSO)." 

MHA said the remaining three accounts belong to a Singapore chapter called Himalaya Singapore under HSO.

Guo, an exiled businessman and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted on Tuesday in his US trial on nine charges, including racketeering conspiracy and wire fraud, for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from online followers.

Guo and his groups oppose China's political system and aim to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party.

The New Federal State of China is a right-wing political and lobby group created by Guo and Steve Bannon, an American political strategist now serving time in prison who also founded the HSO, a non-governmental organisation supporting the group. 

MHA cited a 2021 study by social media analytics firm Graphika, which found Guo at the centre of a large network of media entities and social media accounts spreading disinformation across multiple platforms.

This network also posted various narratives related to Singapore.

The ministry noted that the network’s coordinated actions and history of using Singapore to push its agenda show its willingness and capability to spread false narratives harmful to the country's interests.

"The timing of the coordinated posts, which coincided with the period of Singapore’s political leadership transition, is indicative of deliberate planning and actions.

"There are grounds, therefore, to believe that (Guo's) network can and may potentially harness the 95 accounts to mount hostile information campaigns, which are targeted directly at Singapore." 

It also stressed that these campaigns have the potential to undermine sovereignty and social cohesion. 

"As seen in overseas incidents, they have the potential to reduce confidence in democratic processes, sow discord in communities, and undermine trust in governments and public institutions."

In response to queries, MHA said that based on its investigations so far, there is no evidence that the 95 accounts, which were detected through regular monitoring, are operated by Singaporeans.

The ministry urged Singaporeans to be discerning and always fact-check information against a credible source when consuming and disseminating information online.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article's headline said the Government had ordered social media platforms to shut down the accounts linked to Guo. This is incorrect. They were ordered to block Singapore users' access to the accounts. We are sorry for the error.