UK Broadcast Regulator Sanctions Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s Loveworld News Over Coronavirus & 5G Claims
UK broadcast regulator, Ofcom has imposed a sanction on Loveworld Limited following the broadcast of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s controversial claims on 5G network, coronavirus pandemic and vaccination.
It would be recalled that the founder of Loveworld Ministries has been in the news since April over claims that the “outbreak of Coronavirus is part of the plan for installation of 5G technology and creation of a new world order.”
He stated that the panic created by the disease is part of an ‘evil scheme’ to vaccinate everyone against their wishes.
A drug known to be effective against malaria, Hydroxychloroquine was also presented on the broadcast platform as a “cure” for Covid-19, without stating that it has not been clinically proven or its potential serious side effects.
Ofcom announced the sanction on the broadcast network in a statement released via its website on Monday May 18.
The regulatory body stated that;
There is no ban on broadcasting controversial views which are different from, or which challenge, official authorities on public health information.
However, given that the unsubstantiated claims in both these programmes were not sufficiently put into context, they risked undermining viewers’ trust in official health advice, with potentially serious consequences for public health.
Read Also: COVID-19: Pastor Chris Oyakhilome Attacks Pastors Who Supported Closure Of Churches
According to Ofcom, the claims on the network has cast serious doubt on the necessity for lockdown measures and the motives behind official health advice on Covid-19, including vaccination.
Another part of the statement reads;
Given these serious failings, we concluded that Loveworld Limited did not adequately protect viewers from the potentially harmful content in the news programme and the sermon, and the news reports were not duly accurate. Loveworld Limited must broadcast our findings and we are considering whether to impose any further sanction.
This is coming after London Live and Uckfield radio station were sanctioned for airing similar false claims without verifying the information being circulated.
