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Government urges Ofcom probe of LondonLive over David Icke coronavirus conspiracy – Mirror Online, Mirror.co.uk

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Government urges Ofcom probe of LondonLive over David Icke coronavirus conspiracy – Mirror Online, Mirror.co.uk

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Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has called for broadcasting regulator Ofcom to investigate London Live’s broadcasting of conspiracy theorist David Icke .

Icke appeared on the channel at (pm on Wednesday, and shared his views on the coronavirus and potential vaccines in the future which he claimed will be mandatory.

He called mandatory vaccines “fascism” and his Twitter account spreads misinformation that denies the virus is even real.

He has linked the illness to 5G technology, and claimed a coronavirus vaccine will incl ude “nanotechnology microchips” to control humans.

Conspiracy theorist Icke was given a two-and-a-half hour broadcast on LondonLive (Image: Twitter)

Mr Dowden hit out at Icke’s controversial claims, calling them a “lunatic conspiracy” and indicating they should not be given air time .

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “You are absolutely right these are lunatic conspiracy theories and no sensible person would give them a moment’s thought.

“Clearly that station is regulated by Ofcom and I would be expecting Ofcom to take appropriate action.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden called Icke’s theories a “lunatic conspiracy” (Image: Getty Images)

“Clearly they’re independent (Ofcom), but I will be in touch with them to understand what action they are taking with respects to that.”

Icke’s – minute interview went mostly unchallenged during the broadcast on the London channel, which was pointed out by concerned viewers.

Ofcom, which has so far received 105 complaints, told Mirror Online: “We are assessing this program as a priority.”

When London Live posted a preview of the two-and-a-half-hour show on Twitter, it was met with fierce criticism.

His views have been branded “dangerous” (Image: Twitter)

“You need stripping of your broadcasting license and the person responsible for this decision should be fired. Icke is a lunatic and shouldn’t be legitimized at any time, let alone now , “wrote one user.

” Do not broadcast this maniac’s dangerous words. There is freedom of speech and then there is the willful disemination of dangerous falsehoods, “added another.

” It’s barely even a hypothesis. It’s just deluded rambling. It’s so irresponsible to broadcast conspiracy theory nut jobs at a time like this. This is really the last thing we need just now, “ranted a third.

In a statement, the broadcaster told Mirror Online:” Last evening at (pm, London Live broadcast a program comprised of an interview with David Icke.

“We note that several commentators on social media have Complained about our decision, however, we also note those complaints are about another interview with David Icke. We did not broadcast the interview which is the subject of the complaints on social media. “

David Icke has made bizarre claims about the coronavirus being linked to 5G technology (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)

A spokesman added: “Commentators are confusing the interview broadcast last night with an interview with David Icke which was removed from YouTube. The interview London Live did broadcast is still available on YouTube .

“We regret if we have given any rise to this confusion.”

Icke, who has , Twitter followers, has previously used his platform to spread conspiracy theories, including the claim business leaders are lying about coronavirus in order to promote their own vaccines for financial gain.

He has also spread claims 5G technology will control our minds, and said “there is a link between 5G and this health crisis” – claims which Cabinet Officer Minister Michael Gove has slammed as “dangerous nonsense”

.

His recent YouTube videos have now been banned by the streaming site , which has been forced to tighten its rules in recent days as misinformation spreads.

Bizarre conspiracies about 5G causing coronavirus have been sweeping the internet, even leading to masts being vandalized (Image: REUTERS)

BT has called the conspiracies ‘baseless’ and begged people to leave their engineers alone (Image: MarcAllera / Twitter)

YouTube has now banned all videos linking the coronavirus to 5G networking, and said in a statement: “We have clear policies that prohibit videos promoting medically unsubstantiated methods to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment, and we quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged to us.

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“Now any content that disputes the existence or transmission of COVID – , as described by the WHO [World Health Organisation] and local health authorities is in violation of YouTube policies.

“This includes conspiracy theories which claim that the symptoms are caused by 5G.”

MirrorOnline has reached out to LondonLive and David Icke for comment.

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