The Straits Times has drawn flak online for publishing a quote from an apparent 29-year-old who allegedly claimed to have bought a 40-year-old flat 20 years ago. The national broadsheet failed to notice that the man would have been a mere 9 years old when he apparently bought the flat, if this were the case.
Facebook user Kiwi Edward Lim is among a few netizens who flagged this mistake online:
Can you spot it? 😉
Posted by Kiwi Edward Lim on Sunday, 19 August 2018
While it is unclear whether the interviewee’s age is a typo or whether the interviewee deliberately or unknowingly supplied erroneous information to the newspaper, the fact remains that The Straits Times did not exercise adequate oversight before the article was printed.
Netizens have excoriated the paper for the claim, with some opining that the 29-year-old coud even be a media-created person. Some have also offered that the 29-year-old could have inherited the flat but others noted that he clearly mentioned that he “bought” it:
This is not the first time The Straits Times has possibly published erroneous information in their articles. Take a look at some more recent instances here:
https://theindependent.sg.sg/straits-times-misidentifies-kim-jong-un-as-south-korean-leader/
https://theindependent.sg.sg/did-government-friendly-straits-times-publish-yet-another-misleading-statement-after-preaching-about-fake-news/
https://theindependent.sg.sg/netizens-call-the-straits-times-out-for-errors-in-three-separate-articles-within-one-week/