YouTube has taken down Emmanuel TV, the channel managed by TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), for allegedly violating its hate speech policies.
TB Joshua died on June 5, 2021, at the age of 57. However, SCOAN is now run by his wife Evelyn Joshua.
Earlier this month, the BBC Africa Eye published eyewitness accounts of rape, torture, and forced abortions allegedly committed by the late cleric.
In the documentary, some former members of the church claimed TB Joshua raped, tortured, and forced them to carry out abortions inside the church located in the Ikotun area of Lagos state.
The report has since stirred up heated controversies across social media with users expressing mixed opinions.
As part of the investigation with BBC, openDemocracy identified “more than 50 videos amplifying abuse against Joshua’s accusers” on YouTube.
Survivors said the clips were kept to threaten and damage the reputation of ex-followers of the ministry if they ever decide to make their experiences public.
“The idea was to have so much humiliation filmed on tape that you are both aware of it,” said Ajoke, a former member of the church, in an interview with openDemocracy.
“You fear it so much and are constantly shamed by it. So much so that it’s like your voice has been shut down by it.”
The matter was reported to YouTube and the account was suspended on January 29.
The content reported includes “Emmanuel TV footage of people with mental health issues being kept in chains, cases of medical misinformation, and examples of smear campaigns against women who spoke out about TB Joshua’s sexual abuse”.
“The flagged channel was terminated for violating our hate speech policies,” YouTube said.
Emmanuel TV has more than half a million followers on YouTube and hundreds of millions of views.
This is the second time in three years that its YouTube channel has been suspended, following previous breaches of the platform’s user guidelines.
On January 17, TheCable revealed how MultiChoice dropped Emmanuel TV’s satellite channel on DStv and GOtv.
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