On September 1, Singapore ordered US-based comedian Sammy Obeid to carry correction notices on his previous social media posts where he claimed his shows in the city-state were cancelled due to government censorship.
The Lebanese-Palestinian American comedian was set to have two shows in Singapore’s Victoria Theatre on August 31 as part of his Asia tour.
However, they were suddenly cancelled after the city-state’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) refused to grant the necessary permit.
On August 27, Obeid uploaded a 20-slide post on Instagram alleging that he was censored by the government for criticizing the Gaza conflict in his script.
He explained that he went through several rounds of editing to tone down his references to Palestine — including calls for action — despite his reservations about it.
However, after multiple revisions, the script was still rejected, and no permit was issued, said Obeid.
The comedian did not name IMDA in his initial and subsequent posts regarding the issue, but implied that it was the agency that asked for the edits.
IMDA refuted his claims the following day, stating that no edits were ever demanded and the application was denied because it was submitted late by his local representative.
An Arts Entertainment License is required for events such as theatre, music, dance, readings and stand-up performances.
IMDA oversees the system and may ask for changes to scripts, if necessary.
Performers must apply 40 days before the event via a local agent.
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Correction under Singapore’s fake news law
The correction direction order was filed under the Protection from Online Falsehoods Manipulations Act (POFMA), also known as Singapore’s fake news law.
It was issued against Obeid by the POFMA Office on the instruction of Singapore Minister for Digital Development and Information, Josephine Teo.
Obeid will not be required to remove his social media posts, but they will need to include the correction notices to provide readers a link to the government’s clarification, the Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) said on September 1.
The comedian can appeal the POFMA order, but he must comply with it for now, and failure to do so without a justifiable excuse may result in a fine of up to SG$20,000 (around US$15,570) or a prison sentence of up to a year, or both.
The involved social media platforms may also be directed by the POFMA office to carry the correction notice for all their Singapore users.
The office can also order the removal of the posts or block access to them.
According to MDDI, the POFMA order was issued as Obeid’s claims could cause “serious misunderstanding.” It could erode public trust in IMDA’s licensing role and inflame public sentiment on an already sensitive issue, the ministry added.
“We know many Singaporeans care deeply about Gaza,” MDDI said in its news release. “We want to reassure everyone that this case was not about silencing anyone’s voice.
“Singaporeans will always have the channels to express their views reasonably and constructively on Gaza and other important issues.”
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Obeid’s claims are ‘completely fictional’: minister
Speaking to the media on August 31, Singapore Law Minister and Second Minister for Home Affairs Edwin Tong reiterated IMDA’s statement and stressed that “not a single edit was requested by IMDA on the script.”
“There were no communications with Mr Obeid on the script, and his own agent has confirmed this,” he said, describing Obeid’s claims as “completely fictional.”
“The rules say that license applications have to be submitted 40 days to IMDA before a show is put up. In this case, he applied on August 15 for a show on August 31. That is about 30 days late,” added Tong, as quoted by The Straits Times.
IMDA also released its own timeline on August 31, which said Obeid’s assistant had first contacted IMDA on July 8 to ask about the process and received details the following day.
The next contact came more than a month later, when his agent submitted the formal application on August 15.
The application was turned down on August 19 for being late, and an appeal on August 20 was rejected on August 25.
A separate statement by an IMDA spokesperson on the same day also said Obeid’s local agent had expressed surprise at his allegations of censorship, claiming that she had e-mails and recordings that showed she consistently reminded the comedian that the application had been filed too late and that no edits were ever needed.
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‘Your boy ain’t no liar,’ says Obeid
Obeid, on August 31, rejected accusations that he fabricated his account by uploading clips on Instagram in which an unidentified voice instructed him over the phone to remove “anything that has to do with Palestine and Israel” and added that “they’ve given us until 3pm today.”
According to the comedian, he agreed to make adjustments to his act in hopes of keeping his show alive. However, he did not specify when the calls were made or who was on the line.
He added that he initially contacted IMDA in July but later left communications to a local representative.
He also argued that other performers had successfully staged shows despite filing applications late, questioning why he was asked to make changes if tardiness was the sole reason for rejection.
“You can call me a lot of things… failed mathematician, mediocre comedian, gum chewer… but your boy ain’t no liar,” Obeid wrote in the caption of his Instagram post.
MDDI addressed Obeid’s latest post, saying: “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.”
Neither side has revealed the local agent’s identity.
Questions still remain over why a script was submitted at all, given that stand-up comedy is generally treated as unscripted under IMDA’s framework.
However, performers are still required to send a synopsis or video recording of their rehearsal or a similar show they have done before.
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