Another fake ST article emerges online with links to clickbait articles and ads

Another fake ST article has surfaced online after one was used on Carousell advertisement last month, according to an article by the publication. SPH was alerted to the incident by readers, who also pointed out that the story was circulating as a sponsored post on Facebook.In the screenshots submitted by readers to the real ST, the fake article detailed a sharing by local actor Shaun Chen on how he has ended his career to focus on digital currency trading and seen results. The fake article included the ST logo and mimicked the design of ST‘s actual website. According to SPH’s clarification article, users who click on the fake article was directed to pages with clickbait posts and advertisements. Marketing has reached out to Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) for its comments.While seemingly authentic, a deeper look into the URL will show that the article is not hosted on ST‘s website. Also, the photo carries an unrelated caption and no photo credit, which is not aligned with ST‘s editorial style, highlighted the news report. SPH added: “ST is aware of the existence of the fake page and is working to resolve the issue.”Last month, a scam ad featuring billionaire Peter Lim was spotted on a Carousell listing that promotes a “new secret investment” endorsed by the billionaire. The listing included screenshots of a fake article on its platform and other logos of other SPH’ publications such as The New Paper and The Business Times under “as seen on”. Mediacorp’s TODAY, and Singapore Business Review‘s logos are also featured. SPH has declined to comment on the matter.In the article, Lim allegedly spoke to Hello Singapore host Lin Youyi on the investment opportunity, which was said to leave “experts in awe and big banks terrified”. This is not the first time investment scams were executed in Lim’s name. He had previously also filed several police reports about such cases on fake Facebook accounts, said ST.Other high-profile personalities have also been exploited in get-rich-quick schemes in the past. In 2016, AirAsia issued a statement to stress that its group CEO Tony Fernandes did not endorse advertisements on social media that reveal his secret of making as much as US$300 per day from home.In the age of fake news, such scams are not new and brands are not spared either. For example, Singapore Airlines warned customers earlier in January of a fake website offering free air tickets in return for personal details, while in Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines was accused of running controversial out-of-home advertisements in a series of superimposed images and PROTON spotted a fake invitation card circulating on social media on the official launch of the PROTON X70.