Almost a year since sensationalist sociopolitical site The Real Singapore (TRS) got shut down, its former chief editor Ai Takagi has pleaded guilty to four counts of sedition for publishing false articles that encouraged xenophobic tendencies.
The 23-year-old Australian appeared in court yesterday, admitting to being the owner and chief editor of the website, as well as editing articles to exaggerate anti-foreigner sentiments — especially against citizens of the Philippines, India and China. Channel NewsAsia reports that Takagi also admitted to using multiple false identities, and intended for TRS to “instill fear” in employers who favoured foreigners over locals.
The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) shut the website down last year after TRS was noted to have deliberately fabricated articles and falsely attributed them to innocent parties. Plagiarism was fair game too. The duo behind the website — Takagi and her now-husband Yang Kaiheng — were arrested and charged with sedition.
Of course, all this was all done for the internet lulz and them juicy clicks. The more subversive, rabble-rousing and controversial the articles were, the more TRS made money — and dayum son, did they rake in the cash. Exploiting insurrectionist inclinations, the editors generated as much as $50,000 per month through advertising via Google’s AdSense platform. In fact, the site accumulated nearly half a million dollars in revenue between December 2013 and April 2015, according to The New Paper.
Despite Yang’s similar charges, the 27-year-old Singaporean pleaded not guilty on Monday and is claiming trial. He denied being an editor of TRS, claiming that his involvement with the site lasted only a month in 2012. Takagi had also refused to disclose Yang’s role in TRS during the course of police investigations.
For sedition, Takagi could face up to three years in jail and/or a fine of $5,000 per charge — of which she faces seven.
Reader Interactions