New Naratif
New Naratif is an independent multimedia website that was founded by the historian Thum Ping Tjin (“PJ”), the journalist, Kirsten Han and the cartoonist, Sonny Liew in 2017.[1] As of September 2020, New Naratif has over 14,000 followers on Facebook and over 9,000 followers on Instagram.
Background
New Naratif had its soft launch on 9 September 2017 while the website came online on 1 November that year.[2] The website is published by Observatory Southeast Asia Limited,[3] a non-profit company limited by guarantee, that does not have an owner and cannot be bought or sold. In an e-mail interview with NiemenLab, Thum Ping Tjin shared the motive behind the above decision. He says:
“We do this so that we will never be affected by the profit motive, nor can anyone enact a hostile takeover of the company, like what happened to the Chinese newspapers in Singapore or Utusan Melayu in Malaysia.”[4]
Observatory Southeast Asia Limited is also based in the United Kingdom.[1] As of 2020, the website publishes long-form articles, comics, videos and podcasts.
Non-profit entity
New Naratif crowd-funds its operations through a member-subscription model with monthly memberships starting at US$5 and yearly memberships at US$52.[5] Members are given the chance to actively participate in discussions about the issues faced in Southeast Asia. To keep accountable, New Naratif has released transparency reports from September 2017 to September 2019, highlighting their financial statements among other information relating to content production and member subscriptions.[6] As a non-profit entity, New Naratif also depends on grants for support. According to co-founder Kirsten Han:
“We’ve (New Naratif) received foreign grant money, but we received it following applications through the proper channels, and we don’t take money if the funder wants to influence or control our editorial or operational decisions.”[7]
Observatory Southeast Asia Limited has reportedly received a US$75,000 grant from the Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI), a charitable entity based in Switzerland.[8]
Growth
New Naratif opened its Southeast Asian headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September 2018 after registering Observatory Southeast Asia Sdn Bhd in August that year.[9] As of September 2020, New Naratif has 12 staff members in its team of freelance writers, artists and researchers across Southeast Asia.[3] Aisyah Llewellyn, a British freelance writer based in Medan, Indonesia, has replaced Kirsten Han as the website’s Editor-In-Chief. The latter left her post at New Naratif in April 2020.[10]
Content
The following is the amount of content (articles, comics, videos and podcasts) published by New Naratif between 2017 and 2019 (as shown in the website’s Transparency Reports).
| Year(s) | No. of Content | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2018 - Sep 2019 | 240 | [11][12] |
| Sep 2017 - Sep 2018 | 210 | [9] |
Membership
The following is the number of paying members subscribed to New Naratif between 2017 and 2019 (as shown in the website’s Transparency Reports).
| Year(s) | No. of Members | Refs. |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2018 - Sep 2019 | 636 | [12] |
| Sep 2017 - Sep 2018 | 544 | [9] |
Newsworthy incidents
Alleged violation of the Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA) (2020)
On 18 September 2020, it was reported that the Assistant Returning Officer of the Elections Department (ELD) had filed a police report against New Naratif for allegedly violating the Parliamentary Elections Act (PEA) through paid advertisements that were published on three dates in July 2020.[13][14][15] New Naratif released a response to the allegations on 19 September 2020. A part of their response reads as such:
“This police report is a continuation of the PAP (People Action Party) government’s attempts to intimidate independent media, and is an abuse of the PEA designed to strike fear into the hearts of the government’s critics and citizenry... We condemn the abuse of the law to harass independent media and critics.”[16]
Thum Ping Tjin, the Managing Director of New Naratif was questioned at Clementi Police Station on 21 September 2020.[17][18] His laptop and phone were also seized by the authorities.[19] The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, journalists and media executives for press freedom, has urged Singapore to withdraw its complaint against New Naratif.[20]
POFMA Corrections (2020)
New Naratif was issued two correction directions in 2020 under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).
Correction Direction for YouTube video
On 13 May 2020, a Correction Direction was issued over misleading statements made about POFMA in a YouTube video titled "The Show with PJ Thum - Ep 8 - How bad laws are created and abused in Singapore (A POFMA case study)".[21][22] New Naratif complied with the Correction Direction and included a Correction Notice in the information box of their video. New Naratif released a response to the Correction Direction on 14 May 2020.[23]
Correction Direction for podcast
On 5 July 2020, a Correction Direction was issued for a New Naratif podcast in which Dr Paul Tambyah was interviewed.[24][25] The POFMA office took issue over the implied statement that:
"The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) did not consult the Ministry of Health (MOH) or public health medical professionals before informing employers that they would be penalised for testing their workers".[26]
New Naratif complied with the Correction Direction and released a response on 19 July 2020.[27]
Denied registration in Singapore (2018)
On 11 April 2018, it was reported that the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) had denied Thum Ping Tjin and Kirsten Han from registering a company, OSEA Pte Ltd, in Singapore.[8] They were rejected on the grounds that OSEA Pte Ltd would be used by foreigners to pursue political activities in Singapore, given that its proposed parent company (Observatory Southeast Asia Limited) has received funding from the Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) based in Switzerland.[28]
References/ Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dickinson, Eleanor. "New Naratif: Where activism meets journalism in the unlikely setting of Singapore". Mumbrella Asia. October 5, 2017. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "Reporting In! New Naratif from September 2017–April 2018". New Naratif. June 17, 2018. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "About New Naratif". New Naratif. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ Ong, Yunita. "This Singapore-based startup tests Southeast Asia’s appetite for a member-funded journalism service". NiemanLab. October 3, 2017. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "Membership". New Naratif. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "Transparency Reports". New Naratif. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ Romero, Anna Maria. "Kirsten Han: We don’t take money if funder wants to influence or control editorial decisions". The Independent. September 27, 2019. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Seow, Joanna. "Acra rejects company application from Thum Ping Tjin, Kirsten Han; says it has foreign funding links to George Soros". The Straits Times. April 11, 2018. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Reporting In! New Naratif, 9 September 2017–30 September 2018". New Naratif. November 12, 2018. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "CV". Kirsten Han. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "Reporting In! New Naratif, 1 October 2018 – 31 March 2019". New Naratif. June 30, 2019. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Reporting in! 1 April 2019 – 30 Sept 2019". New Naratif. February 18, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ Kurohi, Rei. "Police investigating New Naratif for allegedly publishing illegal paid election ads on Facebook". The Straits Times. September 18, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "Police report filed against New Naratif for publishing paid advertisements during GE2020". Channel News Asia. September 18, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "PRESS RELEASE POLICE REPORTS FILED AGAINST NEW NARATIF FOR BREACH OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS ACT". Elections Department. September 18, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "New Naratif’s Response to the Allegations by the Singapore Elections Department". New Naratif. September 19, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ New Naratif. "Good morning folks!". Facebook. September 21, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ New Naratif. "A message from New Naratif’s founder and managing director, PJ Thum.". Facebook. September 22, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ New Naratif. "BREAKING: New Naratif founder and managing director, PJ Thum, has been taken to his home where police have seized his laptop.". Facebook. September 22, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "IPI urges Singapore to withdraw police complaint against New Naratif". International Press Institute. September 20, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "Corrections and clarifications regarding falsehoods and misleading statements by Mr Thum Ping Tjin". Factually. May 13, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "Correction direction issued to New Naratif and Thum Ping Tjin over video about POFMA". Channel News Asia. May 13, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "New Naratif’s Response to the POFMA Correction Direction". New Naratif. May 14, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "An Interview With Dr Paul Tambyah". New Naratif. July 5, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "JOINT MOM-MOH STATEMENT ON THE ISSUANCE OF CORRECTION DIRECTIONS UNDER POFMA AGAINST NUSS, THE ONLINE CITIZEN ASIA, CNA AND NEW NARATIF". Ministry of Health. July 5, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ New Naratif. "We received a POFMA correction notice in regards to our interview with Dr Paul Tambyah (@yourSDP)." Twitter. July 5, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ "New Naratif’s Response to the POFMA Correction Direction of 5 July 2020". New Naratif. July 19, 2020. Accessed on 23 September 2020.
- ↑ Toh, Elgin. "New Naratif rejects accusations that it is used by foreigners to pursue politics in Singapore". The Straits Times. April 12, 2018. Accessed on 23 September 2020.