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US comedian Sammy Obeid fails to comply with POFMA, Meta & X to carry correction notices for his original posts: MDDI
He was issued a POFMA order on Sep. 1.
September 04, 2025, 04:45 PM
The Minister for Digital Development & Information, Josephine Teo, has instructed the POFMA office to issue targeted correction directions to social media companies Meta and X, regarding US comedian Sammy Obeid's false claims that his application to perform in Singapore was rejected due to censorship.
The social media companies will have to display a correction notice on related posts by Obeid to end-users in Singapore.
Obeid did not have to remove his original posts, but had to carry correction notices
This comes after the Ministry of Digital Development & Information (MDDI) said in a news release on Sep. 4 that Obeid had failed to comply with the correction direction issued on Sep. 1.
MDDI clarified that Obeid was only required to carry the correction notices alongside the original posts, but need not remove them.
"These notices would provide readers with a link to the government's clarification so they can read both versions and draw their own conclusions," MDDI wrote.
The social media platforms will have to display the notice to all end-users in Singapore who had accessed, or will access, Obeid's posts following the targeted correction direction.
Background
On Aug. 27, Obeid made social media posts alleging that his planned show in Singapore was cancelled due to the Infocomm and Media Development Authority (IMDA) rejecting his script, which purportedly contained material about the ongoing Isreali-Palestinian conflict.
He was scheduled to perform in Singapore at the Victoria Theatre on Aug. 31.
IMDA denied these claims, explaining that Obeid's application was rejected due to late submission.
Minister for Law Edwin Tong explained in a door stop that "not a single edit" was made by IMDA to Obeid's script.
Obeid followed up on these with an Aug. 31 social media post which included a video recording of him speaking to his agent about alleged edit requests from the authorities.
Obeid was later issued a POFMA notice by MDDI on Sep. 1, which reiterated that the rejection had nothing to do with content.
Show-goers who bought tickets to Obeid's performances were issued a refund, the comedian wrote in an Instagram post on Sep. 2.
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Top image via Sammy Obeid / Instagram, MDDI / Facebook
