Emmanuel TV, the YouTube channel belonging to Pastor TB Joshua of The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations, SCOAN, in Lagos, has been suspended from the platform.
A statement by the church on Thursday, April 15, 2021, said Emmanuel TV was suspended for allegedly propagating ‘hate speech’.
The announcement however led to public outcry from Joshua’s followers who vented their frustrations on social media about the suspension.
The channel, which had over 1,800,000 subscribers and 600,000,000 views before suspension, was among the largest in Nigeria and reportedly the most-watched Christian ministry ever on the video-sharing platform.
In the announcement of the suspension on their official Facebook Page, the ministry clarified: “Emmanuel TV’s mission is to share the love of God with everyone, irrespective of race or religion and we strongly oppose all forms of hate speech!”
It added that the Christian network enjoyed “a long and fruitful relationship with YouTube” and believed “this decision was made in haste”.
YouTube had earlier awarded Emmanuel TV a ‘Gold Creator Award’ for surpassing 1,000,000 subscribers, an achievement which attracted commendation from the company’s CEO, Susan Wojcicki.
Source: The Nation
