YouTube has taken down the channel of a Nigerian church led by the late TB Joshua, a famous preacher who claimed to heal people with miracles. The channel, called Emmanuel TV, had more than 500,000 followers and showed videos of TB Joshua’s services and teachings. However, some of these videos were found to be hateful and abusive by a group of journalists who investigated the church. They reported that the channel showed people with mental problems being chained up, false information about health, and attacks on women who accused TB Joshua of sexual abuse. YouTube said the channel broke its rules on hate speech and suspended it on January 29.
The church, which is now run by TB Joshua’s wife, Evelyn, has not said anything about the ban. It had previously denied any wrongdoing and said the accusations were “unfounded.” TB Joshua died in 2021 and was very popular among many Christians in Africa and around the world. He also had a satellite channel that reached millions of viewers, but it was also taken off the air by a South African company on January 17.
The journalists who exposed the church’s abuses said they were also harassed online by people who supported TB Joshua and Emmanuel TV.
