Facebookhas confirmed that a bug in their system led to "recurrent auto-posting" on Dr Vivian Balakrishnan'sFacebook page., causing a post to go up on Cooling-Off Day, when candidates are not allowed to campaign offline, or online.
In an email to the media on Friday (Sep 11) a spokesperson forFacebook said, "A bug in our technical system led to recurrent auto-posting on Dr Vivian Balakrishnan'sFacebook Page. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused."
On Thursday (Sep 10), which was Cooling-Off Day, online users spotted a post on Dr Balakrishnan's Facebook page, triggering responses he had violated the rules of Cooling-Off Day.
Cooling-Off Day, which is the eve of Polling Day, was introduced in the 2011 General Elections (GE), for voters to "reflect rationally various issues" raised at an election. Candidates are not allowed to canvass, visit homes, and publish "any election advertising".
Writing to the Elections Department on Thursday (Sep 10), the Minister for Environment and Water Resources said that the post was the result of a “bug” and he has asked Facebook to investigate the matter.
“It has been brought to my attention that a Facebook post that was originally uploaded on Sep 4, 2015, has been auto-posting recurrently since then,” said Dr Balakrishnan in a statement. “As my Facebook and Twitteraccounts are linked, an associated tweet was also generated at the same time. Despite multiple attempts by the page administrators to stop this, the problem recurred at 1.52am on Sep 10, 2015.”
“We have contacted Facebook headquarters to conduct an investigation into the source of this bug. We have also requested that the page be locked down to prevent any further postings,” he added.
The post on Dr Balakrishnan’s Facebook page, which is about meeting voters while on the campaign trail in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, first appeared on Sep 4 at 5.53am. The post was accompanied by photos of Dr Vivian greeting residents while on his walkabout. An associated tweet also appeared on his Twitter page.
A check of Dr Balakrishnan’s Twitter page shows that the same post from Sep 4 was repeated on Monday, Sep 7 and again on Tuesday, Sep 8. The same post then appeared again on Facebook along with the associated tweet at 1.52am on Thursday (Sep 10), which is Cooling-Off day.
When contacted, the Elections Department told Channel NewsAsia: “There were several election advertising postings on Twitter and Facebook by a few candidates and parties (i.e. People’s Action Party, People’s Power Party and Reform Party) in the early hours of Cooling-off Day. Upon noticing these postings, the Assistant Returning Officer reminded these candidates and parties of the rules which prohibit election advertising on Cooling-off Day. These have since been rectified.”
In response to media queries, the police confirmed that reports have been lodged, and that they are looking into the matter.
- CNA/wl
In an email to the media on Friday (Sep 11) a spokesperson forFacebook said, "A bug in our technical system led to recurrent auto-posting on Dr Vivian Balakrishnan'sFacebook Page. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused."
On Thursday (Sep 10), which was Cooling-Off Day, online users spotted a post on Dr Balakrishnan's Facebook page, triggering responses he had violated the rules of Cooling-Off Day.
Cooling-Off Day, which is the eve of Polling Day, was introduced in the 2011 General Elections (GE), for voters to "reflect rationally various issues" raised at an election. Candidates are not allowed to canvass, visit homes, and publish "any election advertising".
Writing to the Elections Department on Thursday (Sep 10), the Minister for Environment and Water Resources said that the post was the result of a “bug” and he has asked Facebook to investigate the matter.
“It has been brought to my attention that a Facebook post that was originally uploaded on Sep 4, 2015, has been auto-posting recurrently since then,” said Dr Balakrishnan in a statement. “As my Facebook and Twitteraccounts are linked, an associated tweet was also generated at the same time. Despite multiple attempts by the page administrators to stop this, the problem recurred at 1.52am on Sep 10, 2015.”
“We have contacted Facebook headquarters to conduct an investigation into the source of this bug. We have also requested that the page be locked down to prevent any further postings,” he added.
The post on Dr Balakrishnan’s Facebook page, which is about meeting voters while on the campaign trail in Holland-Bukit Timah GRC, first appeared on Sep 4 at 5.53am. The post was accompanied by photos of Dr Vivian greeting residents while on his walkabout. An associated tweet also appeared on his Twitter page.
A check of Dr Balakrishnan’s Twitter page shows that the same post from Sep 4 was repeated on Monday, Sep 7 and again on Tuesday, Sep 8. The same post then appeared again on Facebook along with the associated tweet at 1.52am on Thursday (Sep 10), which is Cooling-Off day.
When contacted, the Elections Department told Channel NewsAsia: “There were several election advertising postings on Twitter and Facebook by a few candidates and parties (i.e. People’s Action Party, People’s Power Party and Reform Party) in the early hours of Cooling-off Day. Upon noticing these postings, the Assistant Returning Officer reminded these candidates and parties of the rules which prohibit election advertising on Cooling-off Day. These have since been rectified.”
In response to media queries, the police confirmed that reports have been lodged, and that they are looking into the matter.
- CNA/wl
