MultiChoice’s religious channel 342 — Daystar — has been found guilty of contravening the Broadcasting Complaints Commission code of conduct in a segment about Covid-19 vaccinations and instructed to set the record straight.

BCCSA chairperson advocate Sunette Lötter’s judgment upheld a complaint about Daystar’s Ministry Now programme featuring discredited former research scientist Judy Mikovits and New York doctor Lawrence Palevsky, a leading proponent of the discredited conspiracy theory that vaccines are related to autism.

During the programme, hosted by Marcus and Joni Lamb, the pair argued against Covid-19 vaccinations.

Daystar founder Marcus Lamb died of Covid-19 last November at the age of 64, after saying he had been taking ivermectin to combat the disease. It is not known if he was vaccinated.

A BCCSA tribunal found in favour of the complainant, who objected to the guests’ failure to give solid evidence backing up their claims and said their statements  were “not clearly based on facts, truly stated or fairly indicated”.

He claimed people criticised during the interview were not given an opportunity to respond and people with opposing views were not invited to be part of the debate.

The tribunal found Daystar had breached the BCCSA code of conduct, but MultiChoice took the matter on appeal.

In its application, it argued that while Daystar was a religious channel that broadcast worldwide, only a small part of its content related to Covid-19. Only “a minimal number of complaints” had previously been made against the channel.

“Media research shows that most coverage cements the feelings of those with certain views, rather than create an ambience of open-mindedness,” MultiChoice argued.

“This suits our self-selecting audience” and “we would not be doing our job” if DStv did not put forward views that were disagreed with by the majority.

“When mainstream media puts forward claims with regard to Covid-19 vaccines and related issues it rarely, if ever, feels obliged to provide a ‘challenge’ of any description because it does not want to enter controversy,” MultiChoice said.

It said the featured guests were clearly presented as at odds with majority thinking, while admitting that they had promoted the benefits of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin as beneficial against Covid-19.

The complainant had argued this would “drive religious viewers underground to consort with drug dealers ... in order to get illicit medicines”.

MultiChoice said show host Marcus Lamb had agreed the drugs were beneficial but had not directly advised people to use them.

“Rather than telling people to use them come what may, he caveated this passing mention by saying at the close of the programme, 'I can’t tell you what to do ... Make an informed decision ... Make a prayer-informed decision ... Work on building your immune system which God so gloriously gave us to fight disease and prevent disease ... so work on that immune system',” MultiChoice said in its appeal.

In her evaluation, Lötter said “different rules” could not apply to religious channels, that the conduct code had been breached and that people criticised during the debate had not been allowed to respond.

She dismissed the application and did not impose a fine because this was a “first contravention”.

“However, MultiChoice must, on the first Sunday’s programme after the publication of this judgment, prominently at the beginning of the programme of Ministry Now, without comment, broadcast an admission that it had contravened the code of conduct for subscription broadcasters.

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