Oyakhilome's Loveworld channel fined £125,000 by Ofcom over its Covid-19 unsubstantiated claims

PASTOR Chris Oyakhilome's Christian TV channel Loveworld has been fined £125,000 by the UK's broadcasting regulator Ofcom for airing harmful claims about the Covid-19 pandemic describing it as a planned event.

Loveworld, the television channel of Pastor Oyakhilome's Christ Embassy Church, recently aired a 29-hour programme titled Global Day of Prayer in which it described the pandemic as an evil act perpetuated by satanic forces. Its lengthy broadcast was a religious programme and incorporated sermons, hymns, prayers and scripture readings.

During the programme, there were also statements broadcast that described the Covid-19 pandemic as a planned event, which Christ Embassy Church claimed was planned by the deep state. In addition, the channel also claimed that Covid-19 vaccines were sinister and were being used to control recipients through the use of nanochips.

An Ofcom spokesman said: "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. 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.

"Ofcom considered these breaches to be serious, repeated and reckless, warranting the imposition of a statutory sanction beyond the direction to broadcast a statement of our findings that Ofcom issued in its decision published 15 January 2021."

In addition, Ofcom also noted that this breach followed warnings they had given the broadcaster about similar issues last year. Loveworld had apparently been warned in January about the unsubstantiated claims it was making on its programme.