An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
A hoax image of a statement supposedly from the Prime Minister's Office prompted CNN and CCTV to issue erroneous reports about Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
SINGAPORE: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Wednesday evening (Mar 18) that it is lodging a police report over a fake statement about former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
The image of the doctored statement from the PMO's website has been circulating on social media and on WhatsApp. Channel NewsAsia has checked and verified that the image is a fake. No new information has been released by the PMO.
Still, the fake image prompted American broadcaster CNN and China's CCTV to put up erroneous tweets that Mr Lee had died. The Chinese state broadcaster also broke the news on air.
CCTV has since deleted the erroneous tweet, and later posted: "News has come in that initial reports on the death of Lee Kuan Yew may have been faked, but it is still unclear." It also issued a clarification on its official Weibo account.
CNN posted a report that a Government spokesperson dismissed the image as a hoax. It also deleted the inaccurate tweet much later.
Hong Kong-based Phoenix New Media also issued an erroneous report, but later apologised for making a "big mistake". It said it was "deeply sorry" and would be taking stern action against people involved.
Mr Lee, Singapore's first prime minister, is at the Singapore General Hospital in critical condition. On Wednesday, doctors said Mr Lee's condition had deteriorated further. He has been in hospital since Feb 5, after being admitted for severe pneumonia.
- CNA/ly
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com.