Facebook pulls down a Polish‑run Singapore page ahead of the election
In the days leading up to Friday, July 10, Facebook stopped the Critical Spectator page—run by Polish national Michael Petraeus—right before Singapore’s general election. The move comes as the social‑media giant takes a hard stance on content that might sway voters.
What’s going on?
A Facebook spokesperson told the press on July 8 that the company has recently removed several accounts and pages in Singapore for violating its policies. The company insists the action was based on behaviour, not on the content itself.
Facebook refused to name other accounts that were removed. With the election on the horizon, it’s clear the platform wants to keep things tidy.
Other pages under the microscope
- Fabrications About the PAP (FAP) – A page with over 250,000 likes, started by Mr Chua Chin Seng. It received a police warning in 2016 for breaching election advertising rules during the Bukit Batok by‑election.
- Several undisclosed accounts flagged for potential misinformation and misrepresentation.
Critical Spectator’s fate
Before removal, the page boasted over 20,000 followers and 17,000 likes. It featured Petraeus’s take on Singaporean politics—mostly pro‑government commentary—and even dipped into regional politics.
On Wednesday, Petraeus posted a screenshot of the now‑unpublished page on his personal profile, declaring:
“The cancel crowd has just got me unpublished. This is the world we live in,”
Did law enforcement play a role?
A day before the takedown, Terry Xu, chief editor of the alternative news site The Online Citizen (TOC), filed a police report against the page. He claimed Petraeus’s posts aimed to influence the election by targeting a candidate and critiquing various parties’ policies.
Xu referenced the Parliamentary Elections Act, which bars non‑citizens from participating in election activities, including “promoting or prejudicing the electoral success of any political party or candidate.”
It’s not yet clear if the police complaint triggered Facebook’s action, but the timing is hard to ignore.
Where to turn for more info?
The article originally appeared in The Straits Times. The Times has reached out to the police for comments, and the matter is still unfolding.
