- On February 25, 2026, CNA published an investigation revealing a large-scale disinformation campaign targeting Singapore and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
- Nearly 300 Chinese-language AI-generated videos were analyzed over three weeks; the overall campaign consists of hundreds of videos, with many clips reaching millions of views.
- 7 out of 10 videos directly attack Mr. Wong, fabricating stories that he is about to be dismissed by Lee Hsien Loong and calling him the “shortest-tenured prime minister.”
- The videos average 30 minutes in length, with some lasting nearly an hour, utilizing Mandarin text-to-speech voices and Traditional Chinese subtitles.
- Content includes fabrications about an “economic collapse risk,” claiming the Hainan port threatens Singapore and that Fortune 500 companies are fleeing.
- In reality, in 2025, the Port of Singapore handled a record 44.66 million containers and has remained the world’s second-busiest container port for 15 years.
- Some videos portray Singapore as a “U.S. puppet,” while others claim Singapore is “betraying” the U.S. for economic gain.
- Over 30 YouTube channels are involved; at least 10 show signs of centralized coordination, posting videos at the exact same second or using identical scripts.
- Four channels with the prefix “Southern Master” were created within 20 minutes on January 18, posting exactly 9 videos each at 10:00 AM, spaced 15 or 30 minutes apart.
- Many videos use deepfakes of Charlie Munger as profile pictures.
- The campaign employs “SEO poisoning” tactics with Simplified and Traditional Chinese hashtags to “pollute” Chinese-language search results.
- After CNA inquiries, Google terminated two accounts within 12 hours, but the majority of the videos remain online.
- Experts from the National University of Singapore suggest the campaign’s scale hints at potential state-backed involvement, though well-resourced private entities cannot be ruled out.
Conclusion: Over 300 Chinese-language AI videos spread fake news about Singapore’s Prime Minister and economy, with 70% of them personally attacking the PM. Despite the Port of Singapore hitting a record 44.66 million containers in 2025, the campaign fabricated stories of a “collapse.” At least 10 channels show signs of centralized coordination, utilizing deepfakes and SEO poisoning in an organized effort to undermine trust in the Singaporean system.
