After being blocked by Singapore’s Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) for publishing eight articles related to the Singapore-Malaysia maritime dispute, Singapore Herald has now moved its articles to crowdfunding platform Patreon.
In other words, it’s the site that just will not die.
The move was announced Sunday (Dec 16) after the IMDA confirmed to Channel NewsAsia that it had blocked the Singapore Herald website after the site failed to take down the disputed articles.
In a post on its Facebook page — which is labelled as “States Times Review” but carries the @SingaporeHerald username — the site said the move to Patreon was “in response to Singapore’s censorship” and that all articles would be available to view for free.
“The website’s advertisement revenue has been seriously affected as our target audience are Singaporeans,” said the site in a Facebook post.
As such, the site has since created a S$5 tier on its Patreon page for standard contributors.
On its Patreon page, Singapore Herald claims to be a “Toronto-based news website covering independent news on Singapore”.
It is unclear if circumventing the ban by publishing on a shared platform such as Patreon could carry potential consequences. The site allows donors to support creators in return for exclusive merchandise and perks.
Previously, another alternative news website called States Times Review was also caught in hot soup after editor Alex Tan refused to remove an article linking Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong with 1Malaysia Development Berhad discussions.
That site ended up being shut down by the owner himself.
Coconuts Singapore has reached out to IMDA to obtain additional information.
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