SINGAPORE — The press accreditation of Singapore media outlet Mothership has been suspended for six months until March 2024 after it broke an embargo on a government announcement for the second time in less than two years.

On Sept 26, Mothership published an article and posted on Facebook news of a rise in water prices, a day before the embargo that was set by national water agency PUB.

The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) suspended Mothership’s press accreditation with immediate effect after the embargo breach.

After Mothership submitted its representations to MCI, the ministry decided to suspend the media outlet’s press credentials for six months until March 27, 2024.

Mothership’s press accreditation was suspended for the same duration when it broke an embargo in February last year.

Mothership’s managing editor Martino Tan said in a statement on Friday that his team would “in the next five months work hard to earn the right” to press accreditation again.

“Press accreditation is a serious responsibility and a reflection of our duty to our audiences. We have begun implementing stricter and more precise systems for the handling of embargoed information,” he added.

While its press accreditation is suspended, Mothership will not be able to attend briefings and press conferences held by government agencies.

After breaking the embargo in September, Mothership said it had suspended a member of its editorial team for prematurely publishing the article. 

In February 2022, Mothership’s accreditation was also suspended for six months after it broke an embargoed Budget 2022 announcement on details of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) increases.

At the time, Mr Tan said it would “strengthen our internal processes and implement the necessary remedial actions”.

Mothership, which describes itself as a “youth-focused digital news platform”, is licensed under the Infocomm Media Development Authority. CNA

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