2 websites set up by TOC to bypass POFMA restrictions to be Declared Online Locations from Jul 1: MDDI

2 websites set up by TOC to bypass POFMA restrictions to be Declared Online Locations from Jul 1: MDDI The ministry said The Online Citzen's alternate website and Heidoh's website had both been used for "persistent communication of falsehoods". SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Digital Development and Information (MDDI) on Tuesday (Jun 30) designated two new websites set up by The Online Citizen (TOC) as Declared Online Locations (DOLs) under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA). The declarations on TOC's alternate website and Heidoh's website will take effect on Wednesday and will last until 12pm on Jun 30, 2028. In June 2025, TOC's primary website, as well as its Facebook, Instagram, and X pages, were designated for the second time as DOLs for repeatedly communicating falsehoods, including on topics such as the death penalty and financial and social assistance schemes. The declaration will last till Jul 27, 2027. Sites issued with DOLs are required to display notices informing users that they have communicated multiple falsehoods and that viewers should exercise caution when accessing them for information. The operator of the platforms is also restricted from receiving financial or other material benefits from operating the sites. MDDI said that following the initial declaration in 2025, it observed that TOC’s operator has set up alternate online locations to publish content. Since the new websites have a different uniform resource locator (URL), they are not required to follow the DOL requirements. "This has allowed their operator to receive financial benefits from operating the sites by carrying paid content, such as online advertisements," said the ministry. According to the ministry, TOC's alternate website is hosted on the same domain as TOC’s primary website and closely mirrors its branding and appearance. Since May, TOC has redirected users visiting its primary site to the alternate website through links on its homepage, while mainly publishing content on the alternate website. Separately, Heidoh is an alternative news site set up by TOC's operator in 2025 and has republished content from TOC's websites this year. HISTORY OF COMMUNICATING FALSEHOODS TOC’s operator has had a history of communicating falsehoods to readers in Singapore through these new sites. In March, both locations were issued two POFMA correction directions each for falsehoods. On Mar 23, TOC was issued one after it published an article about the re-appointment of Attorney-General Lucien Wong. The article alleged that there was no information that Mr Wong had recused himself from acting on matters relating to the acquisition of 38 Oxley Road, the home of Singapore's first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. TOC also alleged that during a parliamentary debate that Workers’ Party chair Sylvia Lim was not allowed to raise any follow-up questions on the attorney-general's re-appointment process. There was also a false suggestion that an attorney-general must retire at 60. Mr Wong is 72 years old. The other POFMA correction direction was issued after TOC published an article with false claims on a reply by the Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam to parliamentary questions on Singaporeans allegedly serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. TOC alleged that Mr Shanmugam deliberately chose to give incomplete answers and that the Singapore government had information to act on, including identifying information of the two Singaporeans, among other things. In its statement on Tuesday, the ministry said: "Given TOC’s persistent communication of falsehoods on these alternate sites, and its attempts to circumvent the DOL requirements imposed on its platforms, the Minister for Digital Development and Information has found it necessary to declare both the domain names of TOC’s alternate website and Heidoh’s website as DOLs." It added: "This ensures that Singaporeans visiting these sites are alerted to their record of communicating falsehoods, and prevents TOC’s operator from continuing to profit from the harmful act of spreading online falsehoods in Singapore." The conditions and requirements of the new DOLs remain the same as the existing declaration for TOC’s online locations. The declaration does not require the websites to cease operations. Service providers such as digital advertising agencies and intermediaries will have to ensure that paid content placed on these two websites is not communicated in Singapore. "Individuals and companies are also prohibited from providing financial support to these DOLs to avoid promoting the communication of falsehoods in Singapore," the ministry said. The owner or operator of TOC’s online platforms can apply to Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo to suspend, vary or cancel the declaration. If the minister refuses, an appeal can be made to the High Court.