PAP IB - Keeping the Opposition Honest

People's Action Party Internet Brigade (PAP IB)

 

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Today I was accused of being a PAP IB. I am not!!! Why is it that whenever someone speaks up for the Government, he or she must be paid for it? Just like how opposition supporters speak up for the opposition because they think they are right, I speak up for the PAP because I think the PAP is right. I have news for those that support the opposition, there are many like me who support the Government. I respect your right to express your view, so please respect my right to have my own.

Reader's Contribution

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For those that do not know, "PAP IB" is an acronym for People's Action Party Internet Brigade. According to opposition supporters, the IB was created by the ruling party to drown out online criticism of Government policies. While unconfirmed, it is widely believed that members of the IB are paid between $0.50 to $1.00 for every pro-government post they make online.

 

Opposition supporters criticize the existence of the IB as they claim that it prevents freedom of speech and that the IB spreads misinformation. What opposition supporters fail to realize is that it is them who are preventing freedom of speech and it is them who are spreading misinformation.

 

As we have said on this platform before, freedom of speech works both ways. You want your right to speak, but you must also respect the rights of other to speak too. The accusation and labeling that our reader received is one such tactic that anti-government supporters use. The first step is to label you an IB. The next step is to "out" you by posting your personal details online and the final step is to encourage other anti-government supporters to troll you online. Hence, anti-government supporters who claim that the IB suppresses freedom of speech just need to look at their own behavior.

 

 

As for spreading of misinformation, pro-opposition sites like The Real Singapore (TRS) and The Online Citizen (TOC) are champions at this. To drive traffic and undermine the Government, TRS and TOC routinely craft misleading headlines to inflame the public.  One only needs to look at past TRS post where they have had to made public retractions by affected parties angry enough to take legal actions against the site. Ironically, TRS claims that there is no freedom of speech in Singapore, and yet the Government allows them to operate in Singapore. 

 

While we have no proof that the PAP IB exist. But if they do, we believe that they are playing an important role in countering the malicious lies and misinformation that the opposition and opposition supporters spread.