SINGAPORE (UCAN): The Catholic Church in Singapore has joined a project in collaboration with the city state’s government and tech giants, Facebook, Google, Twitter and TikTok to train religious and community organisations in using social media to tackle online radicalism.
Concerned about cyber indoctrination, Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth launched the pilot project on June 26.
It seeks to conduct three workshops by technology companies from June to August in an effort to help organisations strengthen their online presence and guide users about sensitive and radical content.
Among the participants are the Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore, the National Council of Churches in Singapore, the Taoist Foundation and the Hindu Endowments Board.
Alvin Tan, minister of state for culture, community and youth, said the pandemic has forced more people to move online, increasing the risk of being exposed to divisive content on social media.
“While social media has the power to divide, it also has the power to unite. Our technology partners are working with us to positively influence online spaces so that we can grow common ground in our community,” he said while announcing the launch of the initiative.
The workshops will help religious groups to educate people, mostly youth, by using channels such as Instagram and TikTok to dissuade them from watching extremist content about race and religion.
They will also learn how to report such malicious content to social media platforms and organise open discussions on such topics through livestreaming.
Abbas Ali Mohamed Anas, an ambassador of interfaith youth platform Roses for Peace, said the initiative was timely and crucial.
“Without proper guidance and information to navigate this digital space, we face the risk of online radicalisation and hate speech among our youth,” he said, reported the Straits Times.
“We need to counter this worrying trend by facilitating conversations responsibly through messages of peace, love and harmony.”
The pilot project is believed to have stemmed from several cases of cyber-radicalism recently reported in Singapore.
