SINGAPORE: British tabloid The Sun raised eyebrows after mistakenly representing Singapore as part of China in not one but two features covering the Formula One (F1) race and failing to correct the error, even though the error was published days ago.
The first article, entitled “Lewis Hamilton should only go to Ferrari if they almost double his salary in mammoth offer claims F1 expert,” was published on June 1 and featured a graphic of the F1 calendar. The graphic showed China’s flag next to the Singapore Grand Prix.
A similar graphic featuring China’s flag next to the Singapore Grand Prix appeared in another article by The Sun on June 4, which discussed the upcoming F1 season.
The error was brought to light by an anonymous user on the “Complaint Singapore” Facebook page last Friday. The user shared a screenshot of the article, expressing concern over the error.
The post garnered quick attention online, with some netizens sharing their own experiences of foreigners mistakenly assuming Singapore’s affiliation with China, even though Singapore is a distinct sovereign nation and is located almost 3,800 kilometres away from China.
While media outlets should strive to maintain factual accuracy, especially when it comes to matters of geography and national identity since misrepresentations can lead to misunderstandings and perpetuate misconceptions, mistakes can and do happen.
But the most curious matter at the heart of this issue is that The Sun has not responded to the criticism and worse, has yet to correct the incorrect graphic, even though it has been more than a week since the erroneous F1 calendar was first published.
The graphic has been updated on The Sun’s website to reflect the ongoing F1 races, but the flag blunder remains on the graphic, misrepresenting Singapore as a part of China, as at 10 June:
