Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s TV channel Loveword has been slammed a £125,000 fine by UK Authorities for airing conspiracy theories about Covid-19 that were unconfirmed and false.
On December 1st 2020, the TV channel had aired a 29-hour programme called the Global Day of Prayer, during which several unfounded claims were made about the coronavirus pandemic. These claims included the notion that the outbreak was ‘planned’, that the ‘sinister’ vaccine can be used to implant ‘nanochips’ that can control and cause harm to members of the public and the theory that the virus was somehow caused by 5G.
Following a detailed investigation by Ofcom, the communications regulatory body in the UK, it was concluded that the programme breached broadcasting rules by sharing ‘potentially harmful’ claims about COVID19.
This marks the second time in a year that Ofcom has petitioned Loveworld for making unsubstantiated coronavirus statements.
Ofcome in the released statement concluded that Loveworld TV breached broadcasting guidelines repeatedly and recklessly.
The broadcasting authority said that the TV channel posed a risk of ‘serious harm’ to viewers who tuned in to watch the programme.
Ofcom added that the religious channels had the ‘potential to make people question the measures put in place to curb the spread of Coronavirus.
“They had the potential to undermine confidence in public health measures put in place to tackle COVID19 at a time when cases, hospital admissions and deaths were rising in the UK, and when people were looking for reliable information given advances in the vaccination programme” Ofcom statement read.
Pastor Oyakhilome repeatedly expressed doubts about Covid-19 Recently, he blasted Christian leaders encouraging their members to take the Covid-19 vaccine.
The pastor is yet to react to the £125,000 fine.
