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Why YouTube Removed TB Joshua’s Emmanuel TV

YouTube removed Emmanuel TV, a station owned by TB Joshua’s Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), for allegedly breaking hate speech regulations.

TB Joshua passed away on June 5, 2021, at age 57. However, his wife Evelyn Joshua currently runs SCOAN.

Earlier this month, the BBC Africa Eye released eyewitness accounts of rape, torture, and forced abortions allegedly performed by the late religious leader.

According to the documentary, some former church members claim that TB Joshua raped, tormented, and forced them to perform abortions inside the church in Ikotun, Lagos state.

The report has subsequently sparked intense debates on social media, with users voicing varying perspectives.

During the BBC investigation, openDemocracy found “more than 50 videos amplifying abuse against Joshua’s accusers” on YouTube.

Survivors claimed the videos were maintained to frighten and harm the reputations of former ministry members if they ever choose to speak out.

“The idea was to have so much humiliation filmed on tape that you are both aware of it,” Ajoke, a former church member, told openDemocracy.

“You fear it so much and are continually ashamed of it. So much so that it seems to have silenced your voice.”

After being reported to YouTube, the account was suspended on January 29th.

The material that was 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,” a spokesperson for YouTube stated.

Emmanuel TV has more than half a million YouTube subscribers and hundreds of millions of views.

The YouTube channel has been suspended for the second time in three years for violating user guidelines.

On January 17, TheCable reported that MultiChoice dropped Emmanuel TV’s satellite channel from DStv and GOtv.

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