Loveworld is the third broadcaster in the UK to be sanctioned for airing potentially harmful claims on coronavirus. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome has made many controversial claims about the coronavirus disease that has spread all over the world [Christ Embassy]
Ofcom, a regulatory authority for broadcasting in the United Kingdom, has imposed a sanction on Loveworld Limited for airing potentially harmful claims about the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Loveworld is a religious television channel owned by Nigerian pastor, Chris Oyakhilome, who has himself championed outrageous claims about the coronavirus outbreak.
Ofcom announced in a statement on Monday, May 18, 2020, that a news programme and a live sermon on the channel aired unsubstantiated claims that 5G technology was the cause of the pandemic, and that the outbreak was the subject of a global cover-up.
The agency said the report on 5G was particularly sensitive because in the preceding days a number of attacks had been committed on mobile phone masts in the UK as a result of claims that 5G technology had caused, or was in some way linked to, the coronavirus.
“There is no reputable scientific evidence to corroborate the claim that there is a link between 5G technology and the Coronavirus, which runs contrary to both the international and UK official position,” Ofcom said.
The media watchdog also noted that it found fault with a sermon broadcast on the channel that cast serious doubt on the necessity for lockdown measures, and the motives behind official health advice on COVID-19, including in relation to vaccination.
Since it was first detected in China in December 2019, the coronavirus disease has infected nearly 5 million people globally, killing over 315,000.
However, Pastor Oyakhilome in a series of broadcasts in April said the outbreak of the disease was a sinister plot by shadowy figures to install 5G technology, which he said was the real cause of infection, around the world.
