[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-and-the-government-tango-for-transparency-and-accountability\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-and-the-government-tango-for-transparency-and-accountability\/","headline":"Social media and the government: Tango for transparency and accountability","name":"Social media and the government: Tango for transparency and accountability","description":"At the 2020 General Election (GE2020) in Singapore, both social media sites and instant messaging were the two most used platforms, playing important roles for political engagement to ensure there is transparency and accountability. Apart from GE2020, the people turn to social media when they feel they have to right a wrong, especially when it […]","datePublished":"2022-07-29","dateModified":"2022-08-01","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/#Person","name":"Judith Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/","identifier":57,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Souce-Canva_Feature-Image.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Souce-Canva_Feature-Image.jpg","height":900,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-and-the-government-tango-for-transparency-and-accountability\/","commentCount":"3","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-and-the-government-tango-for-transparency-and-accountability\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-08-26 02:40:48","description":"Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Binance\u8d26\u6237\u521b\u5efa","url":"https:\/\/www.binance.com\/register?ref=QCGZMHR6"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-and-the-government-tango-for-transparency-and-accountability\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2026-07-30 08:50:01","description":"Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me? https:\/\/www.binance.com\/register?ref=JW3W4Y3A","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"binance US-registrera","url":"https:\/\/accounts.binance.bh\/register\/person?ref=JW3W4Y3A"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-and-the-government-tango-for-transparency-and-accountability\/#Comment3","dateCreated":"2026-06-02 22:11:35","description":"Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good. https:\/\/accounts.binance.com\/register\/person?ref=GGYHGRE","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"\u521b\u5efa\u4e2a\u4eba\u8d26\u6237","url":"https:\/\/www.binance.bh\/register?ref=IXBIAFVY"}}],"about":["Big Read","Community","Local","Politics","Singapore"],"wordCount":2300,"keywords":["anthea ong","Benjamin Hill Detenber","Eugene Tan","Facebook","GE2020","HCI","Independent Sg","Instagram","Janet Cooke","K Shanmugam","Lee Hsien Loong","LGBTQ","MFA","Mohit Sagar","NMP","NTU","ong ye kung","Opengov Asia","PN Balji","POFMA","Pulitzer Prize","SMU","social media","tan chuan jin","The Falklands War","The Sun","TikTok","Tommy Koh","Twitter","Washington Post","Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information"],"articleBody":"At the 2020 General Election (GE2020) in Singapore, both social media sites and instant messaging were the two most used platforms, playing important roles for political engagement to ensure there is transparency and accountability.Apart from GE2020, the people turn to social media when they feel they have to right a wrong, especially when it comes to new policies that they deem unfair or when they need to highlight an issue that the government is perhaps not aware of.Take the recent furore when a staff member of Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) made derogatory and unfounded claims about the LGBTQ+ community. The staff had given a presentation to a cohort of Secondary 4 students which contained prejudicial and baseless claims about the community. Days after, a post on a reddit thread went viral. That staff member was reprimanded and suspended from delivering sexuality education lessons in the future and\u00a0 Police confirmed they are investigating.So the question here is whether social media is a societal leveller?Former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Anthea Ong calls this relationship a dance. \u201cIt\u2019s more a Tango than any other form of dance because each dancer takes turns to lead,\u201d she says.Transforming the relationship between a government and its peopleAs social media is making its way through every aspect of our lives, its power to increase awareness about the government and its agencies cannot be understated. The smartphone popularity changed the way Singaporeans use the Internet. Seemingly overnight, everyone is carrying a mini-computer with internet access.According to Statista, the number of smartphone users in Singapore is estimated to reach 4.65 million in 2020, with social networking, calling and messaging being the more popular activities. (Photo source: The Straits Times)Since the 1990s, when the Internet first became popular, there was much hype on how it would expand the communication of governments and politicians and how it would help the interaction between the government and the people.\u00a0Today social media has transformed the relationship between the government and the citizens, and the politician-voter interaction as the government agencies work towards reaching their audience through numerous social platforms.Political watcher Eugene Tan says, \u201cTop-down governing cannot be the dominant style of governing, but that does not mean that social media has led to the decline of top-down governing. It\u2019s simply that top-down governing doesn\u2019t work as well as it used to and often it will be counter-productive. \u2026 Top-down governing still remains as an integral part of the array of approaches a government can use but it is certainly deployed less than, say, in the pre-1990s.\u201dAgreeing, Associate Professor Benjamin Hill Detenber from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at NTU Singapore, says the Internet has undoubtedly changed how government in Singapore, and elsewhere, functions, and social media are part of the equation.\u00a0\u201cAt this point though, many people who study communication technologies and their influence look back on the prognostications of the Internet as a great leveller and a force for democratisation with a more clear-eyed, and perhaps cynical, view,\u201d he adds.\u00a0Unlike traditional media, Singaporeans can self-publish on a variety of social media platforms without going through an intermediary and because of this, \u201cmany believe that they now have their own mouthpiece or soapbox to put forth their views without the concern that a traditional media editor may not publish their views or publish it with edits\u201d, Dr Tan says.\u00a0\u201cIt is this ability that contributes to the view that social media is leveller and that people can engage with others, including the government, not only through traditional media but in a variety of other ways,\u201d he adds.\u00a0\u201cIt has also made it difficult, if not impossible, for any government to try to control the media. It has empowered the ordinary people, especially the young, who are very digitally savvy,\u201d says Ambassador-at-large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Tommy Koh.But it remains debatable whether social media users really keep the powers that be in check.\u00a0\u201cWhile they can certainly cast attention to their concerns and criticisms, most social media postings have very limited reach and effect. Even then, the potential reach is greater than if social media were not available. Certainly, the powers that be have to keep their eye on social media as part of engaging with Singaporeans,\u201d Dr Tan says.Social media can bring down politicians, but can it also make politics better?But veteran journalist and media consultant PN Balji says the debate on social media needs a healthy dose of realism, \u201cwithout which many will go away with the warped idea that it is mankind\u2019s biggest enemy\u201d. He adds that while social media has many ills, the mainstream media is no angel either.Mr Balji cited two real-life examples: The Falklands War and Washington Post story of an eight-year-old heroin addict.\u201cIn 1982, The Sun newspaper of London had a screaming page one story which said it had interviewed a number of women who talked about the loss of their husbands in the war. It was a great heart-tugging tabloid story but there was one problem. The newspaper had invented the tales. And when exposed, it nonchalantly said in another story: \u2018Well, if there were widows, this is what they would have said anyway\u2019.\u201d he says.The Washington Post dedicated a full broadsheet page when Cooke received her Pulitzer, only having to return it when the story turned out to be fabricated. (Photo source: Neotext)Across the big pond, The Washington Post editors were tricked into publishing a story of an eight-year-old heroin addict 42 years ago. The article by reporter Janet Cooke went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. When her lie was found out, Miss Cooke resigned in the furore over the article ”Jimmy’s World,” and The Post returned the prize.\u00a0Mr Balji says it is the job of the readers to \u201cread with a heavy dose of scepticism and decide what is true and what is fake\u201d.\u00a0\u201cAll this talk of social media being a leveller is, I submit, just talk. We are passing through a phase where trust is becoming a rare commodity. I believe social media, like many other new things, will find its water mark in time,\u201d he adds.Social media has also taken on a life of its own and has \u201cchanged democracy and changed governance in ways that I don\u2019t think leaders and politicians saw coming, not even Mark Zuckerberg\u201d.\u201cIt has definitely changed the relationship between the people and the government. The ones who govern no longer control the way information flows. That means you no longer shape the way the people think or the way you want the people to think. It has become harder, way harder,\u201d Ms Ong says.\u201cFor those who are governed, we suddenly have the power that we never had. It gives us a stronger sense of participation and a stronger sense of ownership that we can do something,\u201d she adds.\u00a0Singapore champions social mediaThere are those who believe that social media and the government go together like peanut butter and jam, or to put it in local terms, curry and prata.In his 2017 article in Opengov Asia, CEO and editor-in-chief of CIS Network Mohit Sagar wrote that social media opened new lines of engagement that were not possible through traditional media, such as the newspapers, direct mail and television.\u00a0\u201cSingapore has had a vision for quite some time to be a collaborative government that co-creates and connects with the people online. eGov2015 is about building \u2018an interactive environment where the Government, the private sector and the people work together seamlessly through the enabling power of infocomm technologies\u2019,\u201d he wrote.Believing that social media is an excellent place to communicate with constituents, launch campaigns, build awareness around initiatives, and is an essential tool in crisis communications, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong took to Facebook and Twitter 10 years ago.\u00a0He had, in an earlier interview, said that people were spending more time on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and he wanted to have an online presence there too.\u00a0While these platforms were not conducive for making speeches, there would be people on Facebook \u201cwho will not be reading speeches and this is one way to reach them\u201d, PM Lee said.Now, a majority of the ministers in the cabinet are are active on social media. On their public profiles, they comment on economic and social issues, and post photos of them interacting with the people.\u00a0Health Minister Ong Ye Kung even created a\u00a0 TikTok account on 23 March while having a meal with Malaysian politician Syed Saddiq. Mr Syed later, in his TikTok account, said \u201cNew achievement unlocked! Convinced the Minister of Health of Singapore to get on TikTok\u201d. @mustsharenews Uncle @raymondl88 x Minister @ongyekung \ud83e\udd79\ud83d\udc4d\ud83c\udffc #mustsharenews #tiktoksg #EntertainmentNews #sgnews \u266c Match of the Day – Theme Song – BBC Sport  \u201cPoliticians have to be accessible. In today\u2019s age, that means being on popular social media platforms Singaporeans are on so that they can access their constituents and their constituents can access them. Sometimes, it\u2019s simply just about the politicians making themselves better known and crafting their public persona through images rather than a speech. They have to evolve their outreach in the same way that traditional media has to be in the online space as well,\u201d Dr Tan says.Social media creates a sense of nearness and immediacy between government and the public. Facebook or Twitter status updates help information sharing and their presence on mobile devices create an around-the-clock connection.The death of Mr Lee Kuan Yew dominated social media in Singapore in a huge way: condolences from world leaders, tributes from party members and politicians, and the outpouring of emotion from his people. Social media was the platform for both people and their government to come together, mourn together and connect.Dr Detenber says \u201cWhile online discussions can be seen as part of the public sphere, I do not think that they have increased accountability of government officials. They may have brought politicians closer to their audiences, psychologically, and increased their visibility, but I doubt they have changed what happens in Parliament, ministries, and statutory boards all that much.\u201d\u00a0Such opportunities come with risks and politicians have to navigate online clutter and make sense of the information and signals they are sent. There is also the question of how ministers can translate “likes” into meaningful responses which aid them in understanding the public’s sentiments concerning policies.\u00a0 Dr Tan, however, does not regard the \u201clikes\u201d as having any significant bearing.\u00a0\u201cThe challenge is for the politicians to deftly navigate online clutter and discern (mis-)information and (mixed) signals they are sent. If they buy into the multitude of narratives online, they will never be able to lead and to govern. It\u2019s crucial that the online space be appreciated for what it is and for its severe limitations. You can\u2019t properly engage through social media alone \u2013 echo chambers being one of the concerns. Nevertheless, it\u2019s a space that politicians have to walk but the real world physical space still matters much more in the overall scheme of things,\u201d he says.In April this year, a correction direction was issued against alternative news website The Independent Singapore over an article that said Law Minister K Shanmugam may be stepping down from his ministerial positions. (Photo source: Goodyfeed)Mr Balji adds, \u201cSocial media is so pervasive that even the Singapore government is using it to fight what it calls falsehoods and to get its messages across. It has also introduced controversial legislation like POFMA (Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act) to force those it says purveys untruths to remove the articles. But there is one major problem as the decision on who is guilty is made by the government and not an uninvolved party. It is like the complainant acting as the prosecutor and judge.\u201dDr Tan does not see the government using POFMA or lawsuits as it \u201cfighting back against social media\u201d.\u00a0\u201cDefamation lawsuits have always been part of the political landscape and I believe that has helped to make people more considered in their views even in the cut and thrust of heated arguments. POFMA, if used prudently, can help ensure that truth decay does not undermine our public institutions and negatively impact our way of life,\u201d he says.\u201cThe laws need to respond to the changing media landscape and even if we regard the government as \u2018fighting back\u2019, the test of these so-called fightbacks lies in whether the vast majority of Singaporeans buy into those legislative and non-legislative tools and how the government uses the tools at its disposal,\u201d he adds.Dr Tan says, \u201cSocial media is here to stay so it is imperative for politicians to use social media platforms in an enlightened manner. It\u2019s an additional tool at their disposal. Using them has its own sets of demands and challenges. Politicians who can leverage social media\u2019s strengths while recognising its limitations will be best placed to make social media work for them.\u201dThe biggest issue is still the online clutter and getting the public to pass through the minefield and make accurate judgments.\u00a0\u201cFor that we need a citizenry who can identify the truths from the untruths, the falsehoods from the truths. Until then, we just have to be selective in our reading habits and always ask: Is this true?\u201d Mr Balji says.\u201cAs for how long their influence will \u2013 social media will continue to affect political communication until the next new thing comes along,\u201d Dr Detenber adds.RELATED: Grassroots movement: Is this the start of ground-up activism in Singapore?Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Social media and the government: Tango for transparency and accountability","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/social-media-and-the-government-tango-for-transparency-and-accountability\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]