Fake news

"In the United States, for example, a study showed that in 1958, 75 per cent of Americans trusted their government. But the figure has plunged to 17 per cent this year.
Similarly, trust in institutions, such as the media and the medical profession, is also on the decline among Americans"

That may be so. But is that due to fake news?

"Democracy is under serious threat. It is unwise for us to just watch and do nothing because it can sweep us over very quickly,” he said."

Irony? Defending democracy thru rules on fake news?
Clamping down on free speech and calling it defence of democracy?

"A pillar of a democracy is public discourse, which can only take place when there is “free, responsible speech”, Mr Shanmugam said.
And free, responsible speech has to be founded on facts"

Hello 1984. Free speech vs free responsible speech based on fact. Facts are decided by Gov

"When everyone can agree on the same set of facts, society can have diversity without conflict, and it allows for public participation while still getting decisions made.
“Without it, our political system will malfunction,” Mr Shanmugam warned.
Key to this is a responsible traditional media industry, he added"

To prevent collapse of political system. At last one line of truth.

What is a responsible traditional media industry? A state controlled one?

A SHARED REALITY – BUT IN WHOSE INTEREST?
In his speech on Tuesday, Mr Shanmugam stressed that like public infrastructure, society depends on an “infrastructure of fact” that gives society a “shared reality”, and that this shared belief in the same facts and truths is what helps democracies function.  
Assoc Prof Theseira argued, however, that when Governments make judgements about what constitutes this shared reality, that is inherently a political act.
“I do not mean they are always partisan acts, carried out for narrow political gain. A good Government would not act that way.  I trust that this Government wouldn’t,” he added.
“But they are political acts because they must serve the definition of public interest that the Government of the day believes in.”
He cited the example of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was put on trial by the Roman Inquisition of the Catholic Church because he found evidence to support the theory that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun — a theory accepted as fact now but which the Catholic Church at the time found to be “fundamentally incompatible with The Bible”.
“All Governments have a political objective to defend a shared reality that suits their interest. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency changes its views on the climate change science depending on who is President,” said Assoc Prof Theseira.
“Is it in the public interest for science to be unnecessarily determined by politics?”