A new version of the SMNI News YouTube channel, the network run by FBI-wanted pastor Apollo Quiboloy, was created hours after YouTube struck down the original page along with two other channels.
Aside from SMNI News, video platform also deactivated the channels of megachurch Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) and “Laban Kasama ang Bayan,” both founded by the pastor, on Friday.
Google, YouTube’s parent company, issued a brief statement regarding the takedown.
“Google is committed to compliance with applicable US sanctions laws and enforces related policies under its Terms of Service. After review and consistent with these policies, we terminated the Laban Kasama ang Bayan, KOJC & SMNI YouTube channels.”
Quiboloy’s YouTube channel was taken down on June 21, and his TikTok channel was observed to be offline on July 3. Despite these actions, Quiboloy and SMNI still maintain a presence on Facebook and Twitter.
Attempts to access videos from the respective channels (youtube.com/@smninews, youtube.com/@kingdomofjesuschrist, and youtube.com/@labankasamaangbayan) now display a message stating, “Video unavailable. This video is no longer available because the YouTube account associated with this video has been terminated.” Visiting the actual YouTube channel pages shows the message, “This page isn’t available. Sorry about that. Try searching for something else.”
According to an archived version of the pages on July 1, 2023, SMNI had approximately 1.7 million subscribers, while Laban Kasama Ang Bayan had over 100,000 subscribers based on a March 31 archived version. Kingdom of Jesus Christ had more than 4,000 subscribers, as observed by Rappler during the takedown of Quiboloy’s channel.
Quiboloy’s channel has been known for attacking and red-tagging journalists and activists, particularly during the previous Duterte administration. Quiboloy, a close friend and ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, is currently on the wanted list of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“The Department of the Treasury is designating Quiboloy pursuant to EO 13818 for his connection to serious human rights abuses. As the founder of the Philippines-based church, Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Name Above Every Name (KOJC), Quiboloy took advantage of his leadership role within the KOJC to engage in a pattern of systemic and pervasive rape and other physical abuse involving minors as young as 11 years old from 2006 to at least 2020,” the US Justice Department stated.
Under the directives of the executive order (EO), any contributions or provisions of funds, goods, or services for Quiboloy’s benefit are prohibited.
Quiboloy has been indicted in the US on charges of sex trafficking and bulk cash smuggling, among others. A federal warrant for his arrest was issued on November 10, 2021.
