An amateurishly doctored picture of convicted war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayedee’s face superimposed on the moon has sparked violence by his supporters who apparently saw it as a divine omen. The photo, which was posted to the Jamaat-Shibir Facebook page Saturday night, quickly went viral, and was spread by supporters via…
Tag: Facebook
JAPAN: Japanese Politics Welcomes Modernity …. a Little, Bit, Anyway
After years of restrictions, the use of the Internet will likely be liberalized for use in election campaigns. According to the Daily Yomiuri, one of Japan’s leading dailies, the nation’s major political parties have jointly agreed to allow the use of services, like Twitter, during future campaigns. Drafted by the…
SINGAPORE: Social Media Mourns As Well
It is no exaggeration to say that all of Singapore is mourning the death of two brothers who collided into a cement-mixing truck. The city-state’s media is all over the story, and its social media is humming overtime. Recently, Nigel Yap, 13, offered to pick up his younger brother Donavan,…
PHILIPPINES: Arrest Sparks Heated Debate Over Cybercrime Law
You want to hear ridiculous?! Filipino environmentalists and Internet users have rallied behind Esperlita Garcia, an anti-mining advocate who was arrested on libel charges for a critical post on her Facebook. She was arrested despite the Supreme Court’s suspension of the law that was used against her, which was actually…
SINGAPORE: Malay Marriage Critique Gets Amy Cheong Fired or Worse
Recently, Amy Cheong, assistant director at the National Trades Union Congress, posted an offensive rant on her Facebook about Malay weddings, using explicit language to claim that cheap weddings on void decks (the first floor of many Singaporean apartment buildings) are responsible for the high divorce rate among Malays. Just…
BANGLADESH: Throwing the (Face)Book at the Prime Minister!
Posting unflattering Facebook messages about Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has landed another person in hot water. On July 12, The Daily Star: Lebanon reported that Bangladesh police jailed Shariful Islam after he posted to his Facebook page an edited picture of the female prime minister’s face superimposed on a partially-naked…
SINGAPORE: Online Advertising Proves Most Effective for High-Tech Singapore
In a recent article, Singapore’s Today Online reported that the tiny city-state is a giant in cyberspace, and touts the title of spending the most time online of all Southeast Asian states, with an average of 25 hours a week! And with 77% of their population on Facebook, Singapore &…
SINGAPORE: Zuckerberg Has Facebook but Saverin’s Got Stock in Singapore
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal deftly described the “Kardashian-like” fame of one of Facebook’s early founders, Eduardo Saverin — now in Singapore. Despite his 33% stake in the social networking site being whittled down to 2%, Saverin seems to be doing just fine. His 2% of a…
CHINA: A Whole Lot of Shaking Going on
No wonder China appears to be undergoing so many changes all at once. Technology ventures of all sorts are bursting out everywhere. Consider entrepreneur Joseph Chen, who would very much like to come China’s version of Mark Zuckerberg: He is is the founder of Renren.com, a social networking site that…
MALAYSIA: No Ban of Homosexual Portrayals?
It’s official: There is no ban against portraying homosexual or effeminate characters on Malaysian television or radio. Following the Information Department’s Facebook post, which supposedly said they banned the screening of homosexual or effeminate characters in Malaysian media, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim cleared the air. Datuk…
THAILAND: Police throw the Facebook at 20-year old Student
Making headlines across the world, 20-year-old Kanthoop, a Thai university student, faces up to 15 years in jail for defying one of “the world’s strictest pro-monarchy regulations, which sentences anyone who insults, defames, or threatens the king or his family to three to fifteen years’ imprisonment.” “Article 112,” as the…
SINGAPORE: Citizen Journalists Get Their Facts Right
Thanks to the advent of social media sites, so-called “citizen journalism” is on the rise. Myra Martin of The Straits Times, Singapore’s largest and most influential daily, reports that a recent survey found a majority of these casual writers are between the ages of 15 to 24. Conducted by students…
SINGAPORE: Blogger Hoax Stirs Controversy
Recent activity in Singapore’s blogosphere has caught the attention of the nation’s lawyers – not to mention parents of armed services personnel. According the Sumita Sreedhan of Today, the lively English-language daily, a hoax about the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was posted on January 27th on both a blog and…
MALAYSIA: The Poster Boys Were Not Happy at All
The popular social networking sites Facebook and Twitter were full of pictures and gossip items that triggered the scandal. In the end, ten people were nabbed for displaying offensive posters of Malaysian big-shots. They were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the two co-chairmen of the Bersih 2.0 coalition…
SINGAPORE: Asian Man May Lose More Than Face on Facebook
The ways in which people deal with stress varies greatly. For some, a night out with friends is enough to lighten the load. However, for some, another way to handle it is to vent on the Internet. As reported by Elena Chong of The Straits Times…
HONG KONG: Shopping for Some Kind of Equitable Treatment
The well-known fashion brand Dolce and Gabbana has issued a fairly lame statement on January 18th expressing its regret for offending the people of Hong Kong. But, funnily enough, many protesters are refusing to accept this apology. Two weeks ago, Hong Kong locals were forbidden to take pictures in front…