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Last Updated:June 06, 2026, 22:12 IST
Top government sources reveal that the highly divisive material likely originated from a China-based digital platform before migrating to mainstream Western networks
The Government of Singapore has deployed its stringent Online Criminal Harms Act (OCHA) to block access to inflammatory social media content targeting the nation’s Indian community. Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs and the police force issued immediate disabling directions to three major global platforms—YouTube, Facebook, and X—requiring them to restrict local user access to 14 specific posts and videos. Top government sources reveal that the highly divisive material, which likely originated from a China-based digital platform before migrating to mainstream Western networks, represents a sophisticated attempt to disrupt Singapore’s domestic social fabric and fracture its long-standing multiracial model.
The Anatomy of the Narrative Warfare
The targeted content consists of a series of coordinated videos and posts that have been aggressively pushed across Chinese online spaces since May. The material selectively uses edited footage of crowded areas in Little India alongside clips of prominent local Hindu religious events to fabricate a deceptive picture of the country’s demographic balance. The blocked posts falsely claim that Singapore is currently being overrun by Indians and that its official multiracial policy is merely an administrative facade. Furthermore, the malicious campaign explicitly alleges an overrepresentation of Indians within Singaporean government institutions and national politics, while aggressively arguing that the city-state must remain strictly aligned with its Chinese cultural roots instead of decoupling from Beijing.
Geopolitical Undercurrents and Strategic Targets
This coordinated digital onslaught unfolds against the backdrop of ongoing India-China border tensions and an intensifying competition for geopolitical influence across Southeast Asia. Security analysts view the campaign as a classic manifestation of soft-power narrative warfare, where state-aligned actors weaponise demographic and cultural anxieties to weaken regional rivals. Crucially, top sources note that the disinformation strategy has expanded its target parameters by systematically tagging and involving the local Malay community alongside the Indian diaspora. By attempting to combine the grievances of different minority groups, the perpetrators seek to maximise societal friction and directly undermine the foundational security architecture of the Malacca Strait region.
Protecting the Multiracial Model
In response to the escalating digital threat, Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong emphasised that the state will tolerate no external assault on its sovereign social structures, reiterating that Singapore’s multiracial model ensures every community is uniquely valued and possesses an equal place in society. The government has confirmed it will continue to monitor online spaces closely under zero-trust protocols, remaining fully prepared to deploy further regulatory measures against foreign interference vectors if needed. Simultaneously, administrative authorities are urging Singaporeans to practice heightened digital discernment, actively question unverified foreign sources, and strictly avoid sharing manipulative content that threatens to compromise national cohesion.
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About the Author
Manoj Gupta
Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18
First Published:
June 06, 2026, 22:10 IST
News world Singapore Blocks Anti-Indian Disinformation Campaign Under Online Criminal Harms Act | Exclusive Details
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NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s successful IPL title defence drew praise from across the sporting world, with England football captain Harry Kane joining the chorus of congratulatory messages after RCB’s triumph over Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026 final. Kane took to Instagram Stories to applaud Virat Kohli and RCB following their five-wicket victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. “What a player and what a knock @virat.kohli! Congrats @royalchallengers.bengaluru on making it back to back IPL titles,” Kane wrote. RCB, who ended their 18-year wait for a maiden IPL trophy in 2025, successfully defended their crown a year later with another dominant campaign. Their latest triumph made them only the third franchise in IPL history, after Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, to win back-to-back titles. The victory also saw Rajat Patidar enter an elite list of captains. The RCB skipper became only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma to lead a team to consecutive IPL titles. Kohli once again played a pivotal role in the title-winning campaign, signing off in style with an unbeaten 75 in the final. Patidar, who scored more than 500 runs during the season, credited Kohli not only for helping him improve technically but also for being a constant source of support for younger players in the squad. “The way I look at my batting, I try to work on where I can improve, against pacers especially. I got a lot of ideas and help from Kohli bhai. Whenever I see him, he’s always there for the team and all players. He goes to the young players even if they’re nervous approaching him,” Patidar said. Reflecting on his second IPL title as captain, Patidar admitted memories from last year’s historic triumph came flooding back as he walked into the stadium but stressed the team’s focus remained firmly on the present. “It feels superb. There were a lot of memories from last year but we had to stay in the present. Don’t have words to express but feeling good,” he said. Patidar revealed that RCB’s plans were clear after assessing the conditions, with the team backing itself to chase. “Plan was clear, it was easier to chase. We wanted to get their top-three. Our bowlers throughout the tournament have been superb. Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar), (Josh) Hazlewood, Rasikh (Dar), Krunal (Pandya), Sheppie (Romario Shepherd), all have been superb,” Patidar said.
Stay updated with the IPL 2026 Final between RCB and GT on Times of India. Follow live match updates, the latest IPL news, full IPL schedule, and the race for the Orange Cap and Purple Cap
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During the IPL 2026 mini-auction in Abu Dhabi back in December 2025, every franchise walked out believing it had cracked the tournament before a ball had even been bowled.Cameron Green became the most expensive overseas player in IPL history after Kolkata Knight Riders splashed Rs 25.20 crore on him, banking on a genuine all-round cricketer who could anchor the batting and chip in with the ball. KKR later doubled down on the pace-and-firepower route by bringing in Matheesha Pathirana for Rs 18 crore. Then came Chennai Super Kings, shattering the uncapped-player ceiling not once, but twice, splashing Rs 14.20 crore each on Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer. Sunrisers Hyderabad went after explosiveness by securing Liam Livingstone for Rs 13 crore, while other franchises continued chasing high-ceiling overseas stars, specialist roles and Impact Player flexibility. Five months later, the league table, and more importantly, the numbers are telling a very different story. KKR, despite the blockbuster spending, finished seventh. CSK ended eighth. Some of the biggest buys of the season barely played, some never settled, while a few simply could not justify the price tags attached to them. And while franchises were busy chasing auction-night headlines, the biggest takeaway from the auction may not be who performed best. It is how little value the group delivered collectively. According to a TOI Data Desk model that converts on-field output into rupee-equivalent value, franchises spent Rs 122.80 crore on the ten most expensive buys from the IPL 2026 mini-auction. The estimated value returned by those players? Rs 55.32 crore. In simple terms, the group delivered less than half of what franchises paid for them. Only two players generated a positive return: Jason Holder and Josh Inglis.Jason Holder: The only clear winner For all the attention around the biggest bids, the smartest buy of the auction cost Gujarat Titans just Rs 7 crore. Holder, who initially spent time on the sidelines before forcing his way into GT’s plans, ended the league stage with 13 wickets in eight matches at an economy of 7.34. Read those numbers in the context of the league average economy rate of 10.26, and Holder’s season becomes even more impressive. In a year when bowlers spent most evenings trying to survive, Holder consistently controlled games. He gave GT flexibility. He bowled difficult overs. He chipped away at partnerships. He became the kind of player every franchise wants but rarely manages to find. Using a league-wide value model, Holder generated an estimated Rs 11.98 crore worth of on-field value for GT against a Rs 7 crore investment. That translated to a net gain of Rs 4.98 crore and a multiplier of 1.71x – comfortably the best return among the top 10 buys. The only other player to generate a positive return was Inglis. And that might frustrate Lucknow Super Giants supporters even more. Available only for the final stretch of the season, Inglis arrived late and immediately looked like the missing piece LSG had spent two months searching for. In just five matches, he produced 262 runs and generated Rs 9.01 crore worth of value from an Rs 8.60 crore investment. The margin was slim – a net gain of Rs 0.41 crore – but he still finished on the right side of the ledger. He reeled of scores of 13, 85, 36, 60 and 72 with high impact strike-rate. Had Inglis been available from the start, it is difficult not to wonder how different LSG’s campaign might have looked.Cameron Green: The Rs 25 crore paradox Perhaps the most fascinating player in the study is Green. Because depending on how you look at the numbers, he was both a success and a disappointment. Green produced the highest absolute output among all ten players. His 322 runs and seven wickets translated into an estimated Rs 12.71 crore worth of value – more than any other player in the group. The problem was the contract. KKR paid Rs 25.20 crore. That left Green with a net deficit of Rs 12.49 crore – the single largest negative number in the entire study. That does not mean Green failed. Far from it. In fact, he was the only genuine dual-discipline contributor among the top 10 buys. But mega-money signings are never judged in isolation. They are judged against expectation. Add to that the fact that Green was not cleared to bowl at the start of the tournament, impacting KKR’s balance, and his season becomes one of the most intriguing ‘what if’ stories of IPL 2026.The smart middle-tier buys The players who came closest to justifying their price tags largely came from the Rs 7-9 crore bracket. Holder topped the list, Inglis followed. Ravi Bishnoi narrowly missed breaking even, delivering Rs 6.63 crore worth of value against a Rs 7.20 crore fee. Venkatesh Iyer was next. Bought by RCB for Rs 7 crore and used sparingly, Iyer still generated Rs 5.23 crore worth of value despite playing only four innings. His unbeaten 73 off 40 against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala became one of RCB’s most important knocks of the season. Interestingly, the four best-performing contracts in the study all sat below the Rs 9 crore mark.Did the uncapped Indian gambles pay off? When CSK spent Rs 14.20 crore each on Kartik Sharma and Prashant Veer, it felt like a statement. Secure young Indian players before prices rise even further. Unfortunately for CSK, the returns were mixed. Sharma, to an extent, justified much of the hype. His 295 runs translated into Rs 7.51 crore worth of value. But even then, the franchise still ended up with a net deficit of Rs 6.69 crore on the contract. The same cannot be said about Veer. Limited by injuries and opportunities, he generated just Rs 2.25 crore worth of value from a Rs 14.20 crore investment. Together, the duo cost CSK Rs 28.40 crore and returned less than Rs 10 crore worth of value.Rs 39.4 crore for almost nothing Then there are the contracts that became cautionary tales. Pathirana, Livingstone and Dar combined cost Rs 39.40 crore. However, their combined value return was effectively zero. Pathirana played one match before injury struck. Livingstone managed just two appearances. Auqib Nabi Dar never crossed the sample threshold required to generate measurable value. Availability issues, injuries and team selection decisions all played a role. And maybe that is the biggest takeaway from IPL 2026’s auction story. For all the noise around mega bids and headline buys, the smartest signings of the season did not necessarily come from the biggest price tags. Instead, they came from the middle tier: players bought with a clear purpose and used exactly that way. Holder became GT’s problem-solver with the ball. Bishnoi quietly delivered consistent returns throughout the season. Inglis and Iyer maximised their limited opportunities. On the other hand, several marquee spends – not helped by injuries, role mismatches, poor form, and team balance – essentially turned into non-factors within weeks.How we measured value: The methodology behind IPL 2026’s top auction buys We analysed ball-by-ball data from all 70 IPL 2026 league-stage matches (through May 24), sourced from Cricsheet, for the ten most expensive buys at the December 2025 mini-auction. Mustafizur Rahman was excluded after being released by KKR, with Venkatesh Iyer replacing him as the next-highest mini-auction buy. For each player, we computed Value Points (VP) by combining batting and bowling contributions. To convert those Value Points into rupee-equivalent value, we calculated a league-wide exchange rate by dividing the total IPL salary commitment by the total Value Points generated by all 165 qualifying IPL 2026 players. Each player’s ‘Rupee Value Delivered’ was calculated by multiplying their Value Points by this exchange rate. Net return represents Rupee Value Delivered minus auction price, while multiplier represents Value Delivered divided by Price Paid.
Stay updated with IPL Live Score and the latest IPL news on Times of India. Follow the IPL schedule and track the race for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
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Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (AP Photo)
Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi has showered praise on Rajasthan Royals youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, describing the teenage batting sensation as the greatest signing in the history of the tournament. Rajasthan Royals had picked up Sooryavanshi for Rs 1.1 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction, where he became the youngest player ever bought in IPL history at just 13 years of age. What initially appeared to be a bold investment has now turned into one of the most remarkable success stories the league has witnessed. Taking to X after another stunning display from the youngster, Modi wrote: “Best buy of any player in history @Vaibhavsooryava by @rajasthanroyals.”
Lalit Modi post
The praise came after Sooryavanshi produced yet another extraordinary innings during Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2026 Eliminator clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad in New Chandigarh. The 15-year-old demolished the SRH bowling attack with a breathtaking 97 off only 29 balls, helping RR secure a commanding 47-run victory and book their place in Qualifier 2. His explosive innings also earned him the Player of the Match award and pushed him to the top of the Orange Cap standings. Sooryavanshi has now scored 680 runs in 15 matches this season, continuing one of the most dominant campaigns ever produced by a teenager in franchise cricket.
Poll
Do you believe Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the greatest signing in IPL history?
Yes, absolutely No, there have been better signings
During the knock, the left-handed opener shattered several major records. He surpassed fellow Rajasthan Royals batter Yashasvi Jaiswal’s tally of 626 runs from IPL 2023 to register the highest-ever run aggregate by an uncapped player in a single IPL season. The teenager also rewrote the six-hitting record books. Sooryavanshi has now smashed 65 sixes this season, the most by any batter in IPL history. He went past Chris Gayle’s long-standing record during his innings against Hyderabad and needed only 15 deliveries to move beyond the mark. His tally of 65 sixes is now also the highest recorded by any player in a T20 tournament or series. In another remarkable achievement, Sooryavanshi equalled Gayle’s record for the most IPL innings featuring 10 or more sixes. The first time he crossed the 10-sixes mark came earlier in the tournament during his maiden IPL century against Gujarat Titans, when he hammered 101 off just 38 deliveries. The RR opener also became the first player ever to score 600 runs in a T20 tournament before turning 16.
Stay updated with IPL Live Score and the latest IPL news on Times of India. Follow the IPL schedule and track the race for the IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap.
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