TOC’s print correction notice in ST ensures facts are accessible beyond online means: Josephine Teo

SINGAPORE - The Online Citizen (TOC) was required to publish a correction notice in a newspaper so that the facts are made available beyond the online audience, said Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo.

She added that this was to mitigate against the impact and reach of the falsehoods communicated by TOC, which had been directed twice to ensure the print notice was carried in The Straits Times.

The Government will assess the need for a print correction notice depending on the circumstance of each case, to ensure corrections are effective in reaching the relevant audiences, she said in a written parliamentary reply on April 8.

Workers’ Party MP Fadli Fawzi (Aljunied GRC) had asked for the considerations behind the requirement in the correction direction issued by the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office for TOC to publish the correction notice in ST, rather than only on online pages and posts carrying the false statements of facts.

It was the first time a correction direction had been issued with a print notice requirement.

TOC was issued POFMA correction directions on March 23 and 26 with this requirement, and had the notices published in ST on March 26 and 31.

Mrs Teo said the Government took into account the overall context in assessing what measures were necessary in the case of TOC’s falsehoods.

TOC has a history of publishing falsehoods, she said. Due to this repeated pattern of behaviour of spreading multiple online falsehoods, TOC’s website, Facebook and X pages have also been designated as declared online locations under POFMA in July 2023 and again in July 2025.

This means that it had to display warning notices to readers, and cut off sources of financial or other material benefits.

“Despite these measures, TOC has continued to disseminate false and misleading content,” said Mrs Teo.

Over the past six years, TOC and its affiliated pages have been issued 25 correction directions.

On March 23, Law Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong instructed the POFMA Office to issue the correction direction to TOC’s chief editor Terry Xu and Miao Yi Infotech, a company in Taiwan that publishes TOC.

Under the order, Mr Xu and Miao Yi Infotech were required to publish correction notices on TOC’s websites, Heidoh’s website, TOC’s Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as ST.

The notices had to state that the content communicated false statements of facts, and provide a link to the Government’s clarification.

The correction was for false statements concerning the appointment of Attorney-General Lucien Wong which were posted on TOC’s website and social media pages, as well as the website of AI-driven media platform Heidoh on March 9.

On March 26, Mr Xu and Miao Yi Infotech were issued a correction direction over false statements in an article about the Government’s response to two Singaporeans who allegedly served in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) during the Gaza conflict.

Mrs Teo noted that countries worldwide continue to grapple with the persistent challenge of online falsehoods, which can spread quickly.

“Falsehoods can polarise societies, undermine public trust in institutions, and threaten the foundations of democratic discourse – by attacking the shared factual basis upon which debate can take place,” she said.

POFMA provides the Government with targeted tools to address online falsehoods.

These tools address the distinctive challenges that online falsehoods present, namely their potential for rapid proliferation and viral transmission, permanence in digital environments, and the tendency for false information to achieve broader circulation than facts, Mrs Teo said.

“Falsehoods can go beyond digital boundaries and spread through offline discourse – influencing public understanding even among those who have not encountered the original false content online,” she added.