Mothership's press accreditation suspended with immediate effect for breaking Budget embargo
The press accreditation of local media outlet Mothership has been suspended after it broke an embargo on the Budget on Friday (Feb 18).
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for the Ministry of Communications and Information said mothership.sg's press accreditation had been suspended because it broke an embargo on Budget information shared with selected media slightly ahead of the announcements.
It has until March 4 to appeal.
ST understands that Mothership had released an infographic with details of the planned GST hike before Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced this in Parliament.
The suspension means that mothership.sg's representatives will not be able to attend briefings and press conferences by government agencies. It is not clear how long the suspension will last.
Mothership’s managing editor Martino Tan said the breaking of the embargo was a genuine mistake made by prematurely publishing the infographic on Mothership’s Facebook page.
“We identified the mistake in under two minutes and immediately deleted the post. While further investigations ensue, the staff involved have been issued a two-week suspension,” he said.
Mr Tan added that Mothership is cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigations.
“We sincerely apologise for the egregious mistake, particularly to the public servants who have been working so hard to ensure the timely and accurate communication of government information.”
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