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 h...