News About Orchard Building Collapse Is Actually Fake, & Why It’s So Convincing

2018-08-04 , 3:17 pm

Okay, let’s face it. Not only is there more and more fake news circulating in Singapore, they’re getting harder to verify as well.

I mean, in the past, it was something easily verifiable.

Like the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) taking away halal certificates.

Image: Screengrab from channelnewsasia.com

All you’ve got to do is to go onto the MUIS website to look at their list.

And the dreaded Tsunami Hitting S’pore

You don’t need me to teach you how to verify this, do you?

But what happens if fake news are now reality-bending fiction?

No, I don’t mean they can breathe fire or make you strike top prize in the next Toto draw. I mean fake news that looks and feel like they’re authentic.

Like this one.

Orchard Road Construction Building Collapse

On 4 Aug, STOMP reported on this WhatsApp message that’s making its way around Singaporeans’ phones.

The message alleged that a building has collapsed at a construction site in Orchard Road. Here, let’s take a closer look at the picture.

Yup, looks totally legit. In fact, if you were to go to the site right now, you’d probably see the same thing.

A building collapses and there’s a cover-up because the mainstream media isn’t talking about it. *excited screams*

So if you were duped into forwarding it to your friends in WhatsApp, I wouldn’t blame you.

After all, it’s the truth, right?

Building and Construction Authority (Singapore) Responds

Building and Construction Authority (Singapore) (BCA) has since responded to the incident.

“Some photos have been circulating on the Internet and chat apps about how a building slab has collapsed at a construction site at 250 Orchard Road. This is untrue; there has been no collapse.”

So why does the construction site looks like part of the building has collapsed? It’s due to the design of the new building.

The building has a sloping roof design, which explains “collapsed” part of the roof.

Mystery solved. Sorry for the alarm. Now go back to normal life, okay?

But How Could This Have Happened?

See, that’s the scary part about fake news. The people who started, and helped to spread, the fake news might not have done it on purpose.

The person might have come across this image while they were in Orchard.

Feeling excited because it felt like the biggest scoop of their lives, they snap a picture and forward it to friends.

And their friends, after seeing it, found it so interesting and gossip-able they forward it to more friends.

Eventually, just like how Facebook operates, 一传十，十传百 (one spread to ten people, and the ten spread to a hundred), it becomes a viral news that fake.

Hence, fake news.

Of course, some might argue that it’s impossible because the mainstream news had revealed the design of the building.

But keep in mind that the news was back in Oct 2017, and given how goldfish Singaporeans are like nowadays, most won’t bother to connect the dots.

Of course, this is just our theory and someone could’ve done it on purpose, to which I’ll just say, eat too full, got nothing better to do ah?

Moral Of The Story: Verify Everything Before Spreading The Love

Because you might be spreading the wrong thing.

I mean, you wouldn’t want to go around bragging about getting straight A’s for your A level exams until you’ve gotten your results slip, right?

Same thing.

This could’ve been easily verified with a call to the BCA. Instead, a mountain is made out of nothing and precious taxpayers’ money is spent on rectifying the entire issue.

Money that is paid for by Singaporeans.

And Finally, The Ultimate Winner Of The Entire Saga

As my boss likes to say, bad publicity is still free publicity. So we’ve just got to write a little bit about Design Orchard.

That’s the name of the building, by the way.

It’s a space that’s meant to inject vibrancy in the Orchard Road belt and nurture local designers.

The first level will be a retail space, showcasing over 60 emerging brands to the public.

The second level will be an incubation space where talented and upcoming local designers can grow into their trade.

All in all, once Design Orchard starts operating, we might just see a transformation in the retail landscape, as well as a wealth of opportunities for local designers.

Now, that’s exciting.