Following a defamation lawsuit from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Mr Terry Xu announced yesterday that he will be rebranding The Online Citizen as a satirical website.
The decision came as a shock to media industry veterans, but Terry Xu was adamant that this change was not a knee-jerk response to TOC’s recent troubles.
“I acknowledge that my previous articles gave the wrong impression, which was not the intent,” he added, apologising.
One article claimed that brownface is not offensive because, as a Chinese person, the writer claims he ‘doesn’t really find it offensive’.
Another article was titled, “No discrimination against LGBTQ community here at work, in housing, and education here: Ong Ye Kung.”
In addition to satire, TOC is also diversifying its offerings to include listicles and ‘lifestyle-related’ content. According to Mr Terry Xu, his editorial team is currently working on ‘Best 1-for-1 Food Deals Near The Supreme Court, So Don’t Say Bo Jio’.
