Oh boy
“THE People’s Action Party (PAP) is mounting a quiet counter-insurgency against its online critics.” So online critics are insurgents? I’m guessing this is the unsubtle way of letting Singaporeans with independent political thought who might dare express an opposing opinion that they are “rising in revolt” and are therefore leaving themselves wide open to perfectly legal raids and arrests by the ISD?
It’s not the content of the report that bothers me, politics is a dirty business and astro-turfing ain’t exactly new. I have a real problem with them associating online critics and insurgencies as stated fact. Insurgencies are usually violent and cause fear in the general population. It’s about declaring a murky and very real war against an established government, with shifting alliances and guerilla tactics.
That the news article never even questioned the reference to online critics as insurgents (bad, like the Taliban in Afghanistan) versus Ng En Hen’s new media committee as counter-insurgents (good, like the NATO forces fighting the Taliban) is what makes this so baldly propagandistic. They don’t care that ‘anonymous’ postings promoting the PAP line are a lameass tactic, they are fomenting the concept that being critical of the PAP is equivalent to being part of an anti-government revolt.
And we all know what happens to Singaporeans who are deemed a national security risk.
Your average Singaporean isn’t going to risk being branded as a revolutionary who will turn to violence, even when they know it’s complete and utter bullshit. The PAP has nurtured the offline political climate for so long, and they’ve attempted to do the same online for ages. So far they haven’t succeeded.
Read Xenoboy.
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