Tobias Sylvester
The United Kingdom broadcast regulator, Office of Communications (Ofcom) has imposed a fine of N65.6 million (£125,000) on Loveworld Limited, a religious channel owned by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy.
KanyiDaily recalls that last year, the UK Agency had sanctioned Loveworld over Pastor Oyakhilome’s broadcast that 5G network was the cause of the coronavirus pandemic, and that the outbreak was the subject of a ‘global cover-up’ to create a new world order.
In a statement on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, Ofcom said that the religious station was fined £125,000 for breaching UK’s broadcasting code by disseminating misinformation on COVID-19 for the second time.
“Today we have fined Loveworld £125,000 for this breach of the broadcasting code. This was the second time in a year that the broadcaster breached our rules on accuracy in news and harm in its coverage of the coronavirus,” the statement partly reads.
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 debunked theory that the virus was somehow caused by 5G, “
The UK Agency said it was unfortunate that the station could continue to spread such information despite previous warnings.
“Ofcom stresses that legitimate debate about the official response to the coronavirus pandemic is fundamental to holding public authorities to account during a global health crisis - particularly when public freedoms are curtailed and complex policy decisions are being taken.
“However, the inaccurate and potentially harmful claims made during this programme were unsupported by any factual evidence and went entirely without challenge.
“Ofcom was particularly concerned that this breach followed previous, similar breaches in 2020 during the investigation of which, Loveworld Limited gave Ofcom a number of assurances as to how it would improve its compliance procedures.”
A few days ago, Pastor Oyakhilome slammed his fellow ministers of God who are endorsing the COVID-19 vaccines and encouraging their members to go for the vaccine.
