UK fines Oyakhilome’s TV station £125k over ‘harmful COVID claims’

Office of Communications (Ofcom), UK’s broadcasting regulatory authority, has placed a fine of £125,000 on Loveworld Television Network, a station owned by the church overseen by Chris Oyakhilome.

Ofcom, in a report published on Wednesday, said the Loveworld Television Network, in a broadcast programme, exposed viewers to “inaccurate and potentially harmful claims about the Coronavirus without providing adequate protection for viewers”.

The agency noted that this is the second time in a year that the television network would breach the rules on “accuracy in news and harm in its coverage of the Coronavirus”.

TheCable had reported in 2020 that Ofcom sanctioned the television network for airing programmes that claimed that COVID-19 was caused by 5G technology, a claim that had been debunked by medical experts.

Ofcom said the network’s 29-hour programme titled: “Global Day of Prayer” included comments that the COVID-19 vaccine is an attempt to administer “nanochips” on people in a bid to control and harm them.

“Ofcom has imposed a financial penalty of £125,000 on Loveworld Limited after a programme broadcast on its religious service Loveworld Television Network featured inaccurate and potentially harmful claims about the Coronavirus without providing adequate protection for viewers,” Ofcom said.

“Ofcom’s investigation found that the 29-hour programme, Global Day of Prayer, included statements claiming that the pandemic is a “planned” event created by the “deep state” for nefarious purposes, and that the vaccine is a “sinister” means of administering “nanochips” to control and harm people.

“Some statements claimed that “fraudulent” testing had been carried out to deceive the public about the existence of the virus and the scale of the pandemic. Others linked the cause of Covid-19 to the roll out of 5G technology.”

Oyakhilome, founder and president of LoveWorld Incorporated, better known as Christ Embassy, headquartered in Lagos, had in recent times, churned out all sort of COVID-19 conspiracy theories — and even telling his members not to believe in the existence of the virus.

Recently, in a viral video, the cleric lambasted Christians, especially pastors who are encouraging their members to take the COVID-19 vaccine, saying children of God are more powerful than the vaccine.