Singapore blocks 6 websites flagged for potential use in hostile information campaigns

Internet users in Singapore have been blocked from accessing six websites after the authorities flagged them for being operated by foreign actors and having the potential to be used in hostile information campaigns.

The websites are masquerading as local news websites with terms associated with Singapore in their domain names, said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in a joint statement on April 23.

During the 2025 General Election, four of them carried election-related news over the course of the 10-day campaign period before the May 3 polls, the statement said.

Notably, most of these websites became active only after the Writ of Election was issued on April 15, 2025, it added.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, MHA said the level of exposure to these six websites was assessed to be low in Singapore.

All six have also not been used in a hostile information campaign against Singapore so far, it said.

However, the websites are associated with networks of inauthentic websites that have been reported to have conducted such campaigns as well as influence campaigns in other countries, and may potentially be used by foreign actors to mount them against Singapore, it added.

“It is therefore in the public interest to disable access to them for users in Singapore.”

Five of the sites are associated with a network of inauthentic news websites flagged by Google’s Threat Analysis Group and Mandiant, Google’s cybersecurity subsidiary, the authorities said in their statement. They had been picked up for inauthenticity and spreading misinformation and disinformation.

The authorities did not identify the foreign actors behind the websites. Checks by ST found these five are registered in the Cayman Islands – a British overseas territory.

They are: singaporeheadline.com, singaporeweek.com, singapore24hour.com, nanyangweekly.com and singaporebuzz.com. There was no public information on the websites’ owners.

The sixth website, sgtimes.com, is registered in Jiangsu, China.

MHA said it came to know of the six inauthentic websites between 2024 and 2025 through its regular monitoring.

But it is taking action only now, as time was needed to thoroughly investigate the websites and their networks to assess their potential impact on Singapore and if they had been used by foreign actors, said the ministry.

After investigating, it developed a plan to address the threat posed by these websites, and assessed that there was no need to act immediately against the websites as they had not been used in a hostile information campaign against Singapore and exposure here was low.

The five registered in the Cayman Islands were created on the same date, March 28, 2021.

MHA and IMDA said the websites were revamped within the same period in June 2025, where they were not accessible for a few days before becoming live again with a different look.

All five websites became dormant on June 9, 2025, before becoming active again on June 17, 2025.

Following their revamp in June 2025, all five received similar enhancements to their website and interface, with new features such as a news ticker, search bar and trending highlights, to more closely resemble authentic news websites, the statement added.

Most of the Singapore-related content on these five websites is assessed to have been taken from mainstream media outlets such as CNA, The Straits Times, and Mothership, as well as from foreign media outlets such as Bloomberg and Business Insider, but attributed to themselves, it said.

Checks by ST showed that many of the websites carry articles lifted in full from these sources without attribution.

“Such acts can mislead readers into believing that these are legitimate Singapore-related news websites and that the content published is reflective of official positions or local sentiments,” said the authorities.

The sixth website, sgtimes.com, also masquerades as a Singapore news website. Checks showed that one of its articles lists itself as a major media outlet alongside CNA, The Straits Times and other publications here.

It frames itself as independent versus other Singapore media titles, and states that “although comprehensive media represented by Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao belong to the private newspaper group (SPH), they have long been responsible for policy interpretation and social consensus building, and their content often reflects the government’s position”.

It adds that “state-owned media such as Channel News Asia (CNA) directly serve the output of national image, especially in reporting on international affairs”.

In contrast, it says that sgtimes.com itself has “no official background” and belongs to the “International Business News series”, and has “high monthly visits, covering global business readers”.

The website also carries articles covering statements from the Chinese embassy in Singapore, alongside stories lifted from various media outlets.

For example, on Sept 20, 2024, it published a story telling readers when the Chinese embassy in Singapore would be closed. Later on July 19, 2025, it published a statement from the embassy contesting mainstream media reports that linked cyberespionage group UNC3886 to China. The earliest post in its archive is from November 2023.

The authorities said it is a common tactic for malicious foreign actors to build seemingly credible websites to attract a local following, and subsequently use these inauthentic websites to mount hostile information campaigns.

“We have observed overseas examples where such foreign actors have created and used inauthentic news websites to propagate false narratives and sway the target population’s sentiments to advance their own interests,” they added.

The websites were identified by the MHA, and the IMDA found it necessary to issue directions to internet service providers to disable access to these six websites for users in Singapore after considering MHA’s findings, their statement said.

This is not the first time the authorities have moved to block such websites using the Broadcasting Act. In 2024, the Government blocked 10 websites that also mimicked news publications.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

ADV: Lexplorer Workshop Series 2: The Decisions You’ll Make in Your First 5 Years (That will Shape the Next 20) Man who sold real Rolex thinking it was fake: Why was he jailed when victim suffered no losses?