SINGAPORE: Hundreds of Chinese-language videos found spreading false claims about Singapore’s politics, economy and foreign ties, as experts warn of a coordinated influence effort.
An investigation by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), published on Feb 25, has uncovered a sustained online disinformation campaign targeting Singapore and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
Nearly 300 AI-generated YouTube videos were analysed over three weeks. Most were in Mandarin, with computer-generated voiceovers and traditional Chinese subtitles. Seven in 10 attacked Mr Wong directly. Many claimed he was about to be removed from office by Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, a narrative with no basis in fact.
The videos have drawn millions of views since late last year. Experts told CNA that bot traffic or automation could be inflating those numbers. Taken together, this appears to be one of the largest sustained online campaigns aimed at Singapore in recent years.
The content followed similar themes across the platform, with one pushing a conspiracy theory that Mr Wong had “fallen from power” and would become Singapore’s shortest-serving prime minister. Another painted Singapore as heading towards economic collapse. Some clips even claimed a new port in Hainan would overtake Singapore and trigger a corporate exodus.
The facts say otherwise, as Singapore’s port handled a record 44.66 million containers in 2025. It remains the world’s second-busiest container port, a position it has held for 15 years.
Other videos attacked Singapore’s foreign policy. Some portrayed the country as an American pawn. Others accused it of betraying the United States for economic gain. None of these claims was supported by evidence.
Google, which owns YouTube, terminated two flagged accounts within 12 hours of CNA’s request for comment. A YouTube spokesperson said the platform does not allow spam, scams or deceptive practices. Still, most of the videos reviewed remain online. New ones continue to surface.
CNA found more than 30 YouTube channels involved. At least 10 showed signs of central control by a single network. Some accounts were created within minutes of one another. Several posted identical scripts and voice-overs at the exact same second. Four channels sharing a “Southern Master” naming prefix were set up within a 20-minute window and published the same number of videos on near-identical schedules.
Many clips used the same visual template, with some featuring a deepfake of the late investor Charlie Munger. Nearly all relied on text-to-speech narration and repeated hashtags referencing Singapore or Mr Wong. This tactic, known as search engine optimisation poisoning, aims to flood search results and steer viewers towards misleading content.
Political scientist Chong Ja Ian from the National University of Singapore (NUS) told CNA the campaign’s scale suggests a state actor could be involved, though a well-funded private group cannot be ruled out. He said such efforts may seek to shake confidence in Singapore’s political system, including among overseas Chinese communities.
Benjamin Ang, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and head of its Centre of Excellence for National Security and Digital Impact Research, cautioned against jumping to conclusions about foreign interference. He noted that sensational political content can also be driven by profit motives, such as ad revenue or audience-building for later use.
Such profit motives may also be at play, as the campaign was not limited to Singapore; CNA reported that US President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi were also targeted in related videos. In addition, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun has reported on similar coordinated accounts spreading false claims ahead of elections in Japan.
Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) told CNA it is aware of online accounts publishing fabricated claims about Singapore’s politics and foreign policy. The ministry said that those familiar with local affairs know the storylines are made up. It added that Singapore is not immune to attempts to sow distrust or influence domestic politics.
Therefore, MDDI stressed that public awareness remains the first line of defence and urged people to verify information with official sources and avoid sharing content from unknown accounts. As Mr Ang noted, such misinformation, when delivered in one’s mother tongue, can feel more persuasive, especially if fact-checking efforts appear disconnected.
Singapore passed a foreign interference law in 2021 to deal with coordinated online threats. For readers/viewers here, the lesson is that fake news videos may look convincing, and the voiceovers may sound confident, yet the content is not proof of facts. In a crowded online space, caution and verification must be a habit of basic civic skills now more than ever before.
