Prophet TB Joshua came under fire in January after the release of a three-episode documentary by BBC. The documentary which followed the story of a few workers of his church, SCOAN (The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations), accused the late prophet of crimes against humanity. He was accused of rape, assault, brainwashing, fetish and much more. Now, the church faces high scrutiny as an angry mob rushes to defend the alleged victims and condemn the prophet. Nevertheless, true to his title as ‘prophet’, an old video of Joshua responds to Youtube.
The church’s YouTube channel has been under attack and suspended in the past. Some sources say three times while others say two times. However, the most notable time was in 2021.
The channel, ‘Emmanuel TV’, was suspended by YouTube with claims that the channel had violated their policy. They accused the prophet of having videos that included ‘hate speech’.
Joshua responded during one of his services.
“What happened is a blessing. I want you to help me pray for YouTube, the organization. Pray for them. Don’t see them the other way around. See them as friends”, Joshua advised.
He admonished his followers to remain calm and not to be discouraged. He also praised the app, acknowledging them as a huge reason behind his increase in following. “Many of you are here today; if not YouTube, you may likely not be here”, he addressed his members.
A few months later, the prophet was pronounced dead.
After his death, the church made another YouTube channel, Official Emmanuel TV. A few days ago, the channel was deleted from the YouTube platform.
The reasons behind the suspension pertained to BBC’s documentary. While the church debunked claims of the BBC’s alleged victims, OpenDemocracy identified and reported more than 50 abusive videos amplifying abuse against Joshua’s accusers on the video platform.
This led to YouTube suspending the channel with claims that it had violated its laws against hate speech and bullying.
Despite the controversy surrounding the late prophet, his address to YouTube is still as relevant in 2021 as it is as relevant now in 2024.