UK agency sanctions Pastor Oyakhilome's channel over Coronavirus, 5G conspiracy claims

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.