On the evening of 19 January 2022, Samsung deleted 2 videos featuring a Muslim mother and her son, who is a drag queen, after the videos drew the ire of conservatives. You may read more about the video in our earlier report.
https://www.tiktok.com/@wakeupsingapore/video/7055188049176612098?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1
Now, less than 24 hours after the videos were removed, the Streisand effect is in full swing. The Streisand effect is a phenomenon that occurs when an attempt to suppress information has the unintended consequence of increasing awareness of that information.
Due to the removal of the video, people who did not even know of the existence of these advertisements learnt about the video and its subjects. At the time of writing, our Instagram Post on the issue has reached 80,000 users, and the Facebook Post reached almost 200,000 people.
Looking at the comments section of the post, it is clear that the majority of people did not share the same views harboured by the conservatives that led to the removal of the videos. To the contrary, most netizens applauded the mother’s unconditional love for her son. A cursory glance of the hundreds of comments on our posts reveal that the tide of public sentiment was firmly with the mother featured in the video.
Some commentators expressed regret at what they perceived to be Samsung “caving in” to the conservatives. In particular, they pointed out the hypocrisy between Samsung’s statement, which alluded to valuing diversity and inclusivity, and their actions of removing the video. In at least one commentator’s view, this was a move that pleased no one.
Social influencer Preetipls also called Samsung’s allyship “performative“.
This sentiment was echoed by Singapore’s fastest man, Soh Rui Yong, who did not mince his words.
One user on Twitter, who praised the advertisement for its progressiveness, remarked that she expected that the advertisement would be taken down due to backlash.
As of 4.00pm on 20 January 2022, Samsung limited comments on its own Facebook post, so we are unable to accurately gauge what Samsung’s own followers think about the issue.
However, if one thing is clear, it is the fact that the views shared by the conservatives in respect of the video are far from universal.
LGBT-rights group Pink Dot Singapore released a statement titled “Censoring a mother’s love” which urged LGBTQ+ Singaporeans and allies to extend their support to those who are facing challenges and opposition, such as the family in the advertisement.
A beautiful ad by Samsung featuring a mother’s unconditional love for her son was removed, as it offended vocal conservatives.
To date, it is still unclear what these people were offended by – the fact that LGBTQ+ people exist in Singapore, or that we are deserving of loving relationships, or both.
LGBTQ+ people deserve love from our families, just like everyone else. We should also be able to express these loving relationships freely, regardless of those who want to shame us back into silence simply because they find us offensive. To those who are affected by these events, do not to lose heart. Your stories are more precious and important than ever. We urge LGBTQ+ Singaporeans and allies to extend your support to those who are facing challenges and opposition, such as the family in this advertisement.
