Sammy Obeid fails to comply with Pofma, Meta and X to carry correction notice: MDDI

The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) has instructed Meta and X to issue correction notices for Sammy Obeid's social media posts regarding his cancelled Singapore show.

This comes after Obeid failed to make the requested corrections.

In a statement on Thursday (Sept 4), MDDI said that the American comedian failed to comply with the correction direction issued to him earlier on Monday.

Under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma), Obeid was asked to issue correction notices alongside his original social media posts — on Facebook, Instagram, and X — from Aug 27.

In particular, MDDI cited Obeid's posts that falsely claimed that the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) asked for multiple rounds of edits to his material, including removing all references to Israel, Palestine, and the conflict in Gaza.

Obeid alleged that his stand-up show scheduled for Aug 31 was cancelled despite being "toned down" and "heavily censored" to fit local regulations.

MDDI also said that Obeid falsely claimed that IMDA told him that it was rejecting his Arts Entertainment Licence application because it was wary of him going off-script on stage. 

As such, Obeid was issued a notice on Monday under Pofma to carry correction notices and to correct his "false claims".

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

MDDI said that Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo, has since instructed the Pofma Office to issue targeted correction directions to Meta and X to communicate a correction notice to all end-users in Singapore. 

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dana.leong@asiaone.com