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Issuance Of Correction Direction Under The Protection From Online Falsehoods And Manipulation Act (Pofma) To Mr Sammy Obeid

1 September 2025

Singapore, 1 September 2025 – The Minister for Digital Development and Information, Mrs Josephine Teo, has instructed the POFMA Office to issue a Correction Direction to Mr Sammy Obeid in relation to his Facebook, Instagram, and X posts published on 27 August 2025.

Clarifying the facts

  1. Mr Obeid’s account of protracted back-and-forth interactions with the Government is inaccurate. In his posts, he claims that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) requested edits, told him to “completely remove” portions of his script, and said it “didn’t like” other sections.

  2. To be clear, none of these things happened.

    1. IMDA never discussed Mr Obeid’s script or its content with him or his representatives.

    2. IMDA never requested edits, nor did it suggest removing any material.

    3. The cancellation had nothing to do with content.

What actually happened

  1. The facts are straightforward:

    • 8 Jul 2025: Mr Obeid’s assistant contacted IMDA about application timelines and was informed on 9 Jul that applications must be submitted 40 working days in advance via a local representative.

    • 15 Aug 2025: A formal Arts Entertainment Licence (AEL) application was submitted by his local representative (“the applicant”) — just 10 working days before the planned 31 Aug show.

    • 19 Aug 2025: IMDA informed the applicant that the application was too late to process.

    • 20 Aug 2025: The applicant appealed for reconsideration.

    • 25 Aug 2025: IMDA reiterated that the application could not be processed as it had been submitted 30 working days late.

  2. We are aware of claims based on the recording of a private conversation. IMDA was not part of that discussion. It never had any discussions — directly or indirectly — with Mr Obeid or his representatives about his script and certainly never asked for any edits or removals.

Why this matters

  1. These false claims by Mr Obeid risk causing serious misunderstanding:

    1. They erode public trust in IMDA’s licensing role, and

    2. They risk inflaming public sentiment on an already sensitive issue.

  2. We know many Singaporeans care deeply about Gaza. We want to reassure everyone that this case was not about silencing anyone’s voice. Singaporeans will always have channels to express their views reasonably and constructively on Gaza and other important issues.

Next steps

  1. To protect public trust and ensure accuracy, the Ministry has issued a POFMA Correction Direction to Mr Obeid.

    • He will be required to carry correction notices alongside his original posts.

    • He does not have to remove his posts.

These notices will provide readers with a link to the Government’s clarification so they can read both versions and draw their own conclusions.

  1. For the full facts of this case, please refer to the Factually article “Corrections regarding false statements by Sammy Obeid”. (https://www.factually.gov.sg/corrections-and-clarifications/010925).

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