Friends of PAP: Organic influence or proxy paid engagement?

Amid speculation of an early election this year, the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) has intensified its outreach efforts by introducing new dialogue channels focused on mental health and climate change. This initiative was unveiled at the #RefreshPAP event, marking the conclusion of a six-month effort to revitalize the party.

Announcing the formation of two new groups to address these critical issues, newly sworn-in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong stated at the event that the party is committed to enhancing engagement with Singaporeans. The PAP’s outreach will also be bolstered through its government parliamentary committees (GPCs), which align with various ministry functions.

PM Wong emphasized the significance of this approach: “Our MPs will step up their engagements through the GPCs – we want to engage not just our own activists, but also wider community groups and stakeholders. Our party seeks to be a party that serves all Singaporeans.”

“The PAP strives to be a national movement, not just a political party, but a national movement for Singapore and Singaporeans. Whether you are a corporate organisation, a social service organisation, or an individual, if you have new ideas, or just want to lend a hand, or make common cause for a better Singapore, we welcome you to join us.”

During the event, PAP leaders engaged with local influencers through a new initiative known as ‘Friends of the PAP,’ and social media posts emerged featuring photos of these engagements.

However, little is said about mental health and climate change in these posts, which are the main topics of the 8 June event. Instead, their posts primarily feature joyful selfies and photos with top PAP leaders like PM Wong.

For instance, Yang Yan, an artist under NoonTalk — a Chinese media entertainment company in Singapore — posted, “Meet my Idol / Prime Minister Lawrence Wong,” highlighting his appreciation for being born and raised in Singapore. Similarly, veteran Singapore actress Ann Kok, also affiliated with NoonTalk, shared photos of herself with various PAP politicians, captioned “up close and personal.”

Desmond Lee: Influencers may not agree with everything the PAP does but support its governance efforts

Speaking to the media about the Friends of the PAP initiative, PAP assistant secretary-general Desmond Lee explained that the idea is not new, emphasizing that every political party needs supporters who align with their goals. He highlighted that these individuals may not agree with everything the PAP does but support its governance efforts.

Mr Lee, who is also the National Development Minister, stated that the initiative aims to systematically and extensively engage stakeholders from various sectors and communities who share the PAP’s principles to address major challenges facing Singapore.

He stressed the importance of organizing this network to gather diverse views, generate better ideas, and communicate effectively with Singaporeans amidst evolving societal and global challenges. At the same time, Mr Lee also claimed that the #RefreshPAP initiative is not sparked by the upcoming general election but by the need to adapt to a fast-changing environment.

Despite Mr Lee’s explanation, scrutiny of social media posts under the #RefreshPAP tag raises doubts about the nature of the engagement and outreach program.

Netizens have raised concerns about whether the influencers’ content might function as “sponsored content” from the PAP without proper declaration. There is also scepticism about whether apolitical influencers can effectively engage with and even challenge the PAP on pressing issues affecting Singaporeans, such as the cost of living, housing, and GST.

Rice Media writer Michele Pek discussed these concerns in a commentary piece, pointing out that the Friends of the PAP network is extremely opaque. “No one knows who is being engaged and how they’re having these candid conversations. What are the parameters for an influencer to be kosher enough to be a ‘friend’? Who decides the talking points these influencers are encouraged to push out?”

Govt spends hundreds of millions on social media influencers

Pek’s concerns are not unfounded, given that the Singapore government has admitted to engaging and paying social media influencers to promote government policies.

During a March Parliamentary session this year, Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song, Workers’ Party (WP) Member of Parliament for Aljunied GRC, filed a Parliamentary Question (PQ) asking the Minister for Communications and Information whether MCI has a budget for engaging social media influencers.

In response, Mr Tan Kiat How, Senior Minister of State (SMS) for MCI, acknowledged the practice of collaborating with social media influencers as part of the government’s communication strategy to reach the Singaporean audience.

Mr Tan clarified that although the ministry does not allocate a dedicated budget for social media influencer engagement, influencers may be involved if their efforts complement the broader communication initiatives of the government. “We evaluate the effectiveness of our public communications campaigns, but we do not solely track how influencers fare,” he added.

Following SMS Tan’s response, Mr Giam inquired whether influencers engaged by the government would be mandated to openly and explicitly declare the sponsoring agency in their posts. Additionally, he asked if this requirement would extend to influencers sponsored by candidates or political parties in the elections.

SMS Tan referred Mr Giam to his previous responses to his WP colleagues Ms He Ting Ru, WP MP for Sengkang GRC, and former WP MP Leon Perera during the COS debate for MCI last year.

“He (Mr Perera) was strictly referring to the paid partnership. So I actually told the position that the influencer he mentioned has also put the sponsorship or paid by (and displayed with agencies) logo. So that this has supposedly answered.”

In that COS debate last March,  Mr Perera pointed to an example of a paid ad by SGAG — a Singaporean social media website — on Instagram that was only labeled “#sp”. The Instagram function to show that a post is sponsored was not used in that particular instance, said the former WP MP.

In response, SMS Tan said, “SGAG ads show paid partnership. This is already being done.”

Mr Perera also argued that the advertorials taken by the Singapore government seem to be more aimed at driving people to change their opinion of the Government rather than serving a public interest, which SMS Tan refuted.

SMS Tan also noted in the March 2023 debate that the Government spent between S$175 million and S$200 million, or around 0.2% of total Government expenditure, on advertising in 2022, with about half of the advertising budget used on digital platforms such as Mothership, SGAG, and other small-scale social media platforms.

However, as to Mr Giam’s question on the extension of disclosure requirements to election campaigns, SMS Tan suggested that Mr Giam direct this question to the relevant ministry instead. “I think this is slightly different from the question that you filed under MCI, my proposal is for Mr Giam to file it to the right ministry.”

While SMS Tan clearly states that influencers should promptly declare paid advertising from the government, some may wonder whether there would be unpaid support or publicity for PAP politicians under a mutual understanding during the election.

This could result in a situation where influencers or media platforms need not declare a tied partnership because no money was exchanged for the posts, reminiscent of wild rumors about free or cheap support from contractors — in terms of manpower and logistics — to grassroots organizations for election efforts after winning big projects in town councils.

Moreover, if this is true, it raises concerns about who would investigate the matter or prosecute the violations of possible offences if a complaint is filed, given that the authorities would be the ones facilitating these arrangements.

Redditors highlight PAP’s struggles in understanding the younger generation’s challenges

Observing discussions on Reddit, some suggest that the influencers who attended the #RefreshPAP event are seen as compromising their integrity.

One Redditor labelled an influencer as “a sellout.”

Another observed that the influencers who attended Friends of PAP have a significant portion of their sponsored content involving contracts with ministries and statutory boards, as evident from their social media feeds.

One Redditor questions whether millennials and Gen Z truly dislike the ruling party, given that election results often indicate support for them despite widespread criticism of policies.

Another Redditor suggests that it’s not necessarily dislike but feeling unheard by the government. The comment highlights concerns such as rising costs, job insecurity, housing affordability, and global competition, which are significant issues for younger generations. They criticize a perceived lack of representation and understanding from leaders who are out of touch with these concerns.

The Redditors acknowledge the difficulty the PAP faces in effectively reaching out to and addressing the concerns of the younger population, noting a trend where PAP votes decrease in constituencies with higher proportions of younger voters.

This is a problem the PAP perhaps wishes to address with the help of influencers under the Friends of PAP initiative and to prevent a repeat of what happened at Seng Kang GRC.