A graphic containing a false quote about Workers’ Party (WP) candidate Siti Alia Abdul Rahim Mattar published by the pro-People’s Action Party (PAP) Facebook page “Singapore Matters” has been flagged by AFP’s fact-checking service.
The post featured an image of Siti Alia and a quote falsely claiming she said the “Israel-Palestine conflict is more important than bread and butter issues.”
The image was circulated on 1 May, just hours before the start of the mandated cooling-off period.
The quote was debunked by AFP on 5 May 2025. The fact-checking agency confirmed that Siti Alia made no such statement during her campaign events.
AFP traced the quote to a campaign rally on 24 April. A video of the full speech was uploaded by the Workers’ Party to YouTube on 25 April.
In her speech, Siti Alia said: “We meet our MPs to discuss bread and butter issues, yes, but we would also like to meet our MPs to discuss the effects of certain laws or the government’s positions on certain global issues.”
She questioned the Ministry of Education’s decision to introduce a course on the Israel-Palestine conflict without prior consultation with parents. However, she did not say the conflict was more important than local concerns.
The false graphic appeared on social media on 1 May, the final day of campaigning before the cooling-off day began on 2 May. Under Singaporean law, all election campaigning must cease during the cooling-off period to give voters time to reflect.
The late timing of the post meant that the Workers’ Party, its candidate, or alternative media such as The Online Citizen (TOC) had no meaningful opportunity to issue a rebuttal or clarify the quote before polling closed on 3 May without violating the law.
This constraint limited the candidate’s ability to counter the misinformation, even though parties were aware of the circulating falsehood.
The misleading content has since been taken down. It is unclear who removed the post or when exactly it was taken down. No official statement has been made by the page’s administrators.
While the original post from “Singapore Matters” has been taken down, AFP noted that the same graphic has been shared across multiple Facebook groups and individual pages.
As of 5 May, versions of the image remain online and accessible on some users’ Facebook timelines.
In the election outcome, the WP did not secure the newly created Punggol constituency.
The PAP team, led there by Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, won with 55.17 percent of the vote.
Nationwide, the PAP retained a strong grip on Parliament, winning 87 of the 97 seats.
The false quote and its circulation via partisan platforms have renewed concerns about the spread of misinformation during election periods in Singapore.
Singapore Matters is widely regarded as a pro-government social media platform. Its content frequently promotes PAP achievements while criticising opposition parties.
This incident is part of a broader pattern in which online misinformation targets opposition figures, especially during election periods.
Given the possible impact of such content on voter sentiment, there are questions about whether such incidents fall under the purview of the Elections Department (ELD).
TOC has written to the ELD seeking clarification on whether the spread of such misinformation by Singapore Matters—especially so close to polling day—would be investigated or addressed under electoral rules.
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