Many people accuse the mainstream media of spreading lies and being the mouthpiece of the government. I’m not sure about lies, but our media is certainly very biased. In fact, I have stopped reading newsPAPers like the Straits Times for almost 20 years. Unfortunately, there is only a handful of respectable and truly informative alternative media out there. Many of the news sites operated by amateurs have huge axes to grind and they go all out to embarrass the authorities.
Having said that, I report on observations like Punggol’s Flooded Sandpits and Punggol’s Withering Waterway. Suffice to say that the much touted waterway at Punggol is not as attractive as it used to be. As a responsible writer/blogger, I have to balance some of the sales pitches and rave reviews that we often encounter in the biased media.
Sadly, not everyone is so ethical. Some of the shitty news sites out there blatantly spread lies and misinformation. Here is an example. Someone showed the photo below and claimed that the roof of a BTO flat at Punggol has collapsed. I was shocked.
Sure, it would make a juicy piece of news if it were true, but seeing how blur the picture is, I couldn’t help wondering if this was just a hoax. I could tell at a glance that the image was zoomed in from the MRT station. Since I know exactly where the block is and it’s less than 1km from my home, I decided to check it out. On location, I took the picture below which clearly shows that the shocking piece of news is just a hoax.
The “collapsed” part is really an overlap between two roofs. It really annoys me to see things like this. I respect what these courageous folks are doing, providing alternative news without pandering to any political party. But in trying to embarrass the authorities, they ruin their own reputation when they create and/or spread hoaxes like this. If the alternative media wants the trust and respect of folks like me, then they should at least refrain from spreading lies themselves.
New Book!
