TWITTER ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD. v MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA

[2026] SGHC 134 High Court (General Division) 25 May 2026 HC/OC 556/2024 ( HC/RA 213/2025 ) 102 min read
37 cases cited (29 SG, 8 foreign)

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Key facts

Court High Court (General Division)
Decided
Judge Low Siew Ling
Charges / claim Conflict of Laws, Civil Procedure, Tort
Counsel Drew & Napier LLC, Wong & Leow LLC, Ajay Nair, Chua Ying Ying Erin, Fu Journe Hahn, Leck Kwang Hwee Andy, Lin Shumin, Tay Zhi Yuan

Source: [2026] SGHC 134, High Court (General Division), decided — eLitigation. Updated .

Catchwords

Practice Areas

Judges (1)

Counsel (8)

Parties (2)

Case Significance

In Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd v Media Matters for America [2026] SGHC 134, decided on 25 May 2026, Low Siew Ling JC heard Registrar's Appeal No 213 of 2025 arising from Originating Claim No 556 of 2024, in which Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, a Singapore-incorporated subsidiary of X Corp, sued Media Matters for America, a US-based organisation, for defamation and malicious falsehood over an article alleging that the X platform had placed advertisements for companies including Apple and IBM alongside pro-Nazi content. The dispute turned on whether the Singapore courts had jurisdiction, addressing service out of jurisdiction under paragraph 63(3)(f) of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, the natural forum, and the applicable law for the tort of malicious falsehood. The judgment cites 37 authorities (29 Singapore and 8 foreign) and applies the Defamation Act, the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, and the UK Defamation Act.

[2026] SGHC 134 explained

TWITTER ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD. v MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA ([2026] SGHC 134) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 25 May 2026. It is categorised under Conflict of Laws, Civil Procedure, and Tort. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.

What is [2026] SGHC 134 about?

TWITTER ASIA PACIFIC PTE. LTD. v MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA ([2026] SGHC 134) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2026. Its published catchwords are “Conflict of Laws — Natural forum”, “Conflict of Laws — Choice of law — Tort — Malicious falsehood”, “Civil Procedure — Service — Setting aside of service out of jurisdiction”, and “Tort — Defamation — Malicious falsehood — Place and applicable law of tort”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.

Which legislation does [2026] SGHC 134 consider?

The judgment refers to Defamation Act, Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Cap 322), and UK Defamation Act. The statutes cited are listed in full on this page, each linking to its primary text.

What earlier Singapore cases does [2026] SGHC 134 cite?

Among the in-corpus authorities it refers to are [2026] SGHC 34 and [2025] SGHC 25. The complete list of cases cited, and of later cases that cite this decision, is shown on this page.

Summary

Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, a Singapore subsidiary of X Corp, sued Media Matters for America for defamation and malicious falsehood over an article alleging that the X platform placed advertisements for reputable companies alongside pro-Nazi content, and appealed after an Assistant Registrar set aside the order permitting service of the claim out of jurisdiction. The High Court found that the Appellant had made out a good arguable case of special damage in Singapore sufficient to establish the requisite nexus, but held that Singapore was forum non conveniens because the Texas Court was clearly and distinctly the more appropriate forum. The court dismissed the appeal, granting the Appellant liberty to apply should the Texas Court decline jurisdiction.

What was the Twitter Asia Pacific v Media Matters for America case about ([2026] SGHC 134)?

In [2026] SGHC 134, Twitter Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, a Singapore subsidiary of X Corp, sued Media Matters for America for defamation and malicious falsehood over an article alleging X placed ads for firms like Apple and IBM beside pro-Nazi content; Low Siew Ling JC ruled on jurisdiction.

Statutes Cited

Cases Cited (37)

SG (4)
[2018] SGHC 123 [2020] SGHC 278 [2025] SGHC 25 [2026] SGHC 34
SLR (25)
[1995] 3 SLR(R) 123 [1999] 3 SLR(R) 1156 [1999] 3 SLR(R) 465 [2007] 1 SLR(R) 377 [2007] 2 SLR(R) 453 [2008] 4 SLR(R) 727 [2010] 1 SLR 1192 [2010] 1 SLR 52 [2011] 1 SLR 391 [2012] 2 SLR 289 [2014] 1 SLR 639 [2014] 4 SLR 500 [2015] 1 SLR 752 [2015] 2 SLR 751 [2016] 4 SLR 977 [2017] 2 SLR 265 [2018] 2 SLR 1271 [2019] 2 SLR 372 [2020] 1 SLR 327 [2020] 2 SLR 638 [2023] 3 SLR 1092 [2023] 3 SLR 1604 [2024] 4 SLR 907 [2025] 3 SLR 1093 [2025] 4 SLR 95
UK (6)
[1944] AC 116 [1971] 1 WLR 1239 [1981] AC 460 [2020] EWHC 2975 [2023] 4 WLR 67 [2025] EWHC 2210
AU (2)
[2003] NSWSC 124 [2012] NSWSC 1136

Related cases

Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.

Referenced in

Judgment

Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.

Read on eLitigation

Source: eLitigation ([2026] SGHC 134)