RCCG urges journalists to verify recycled images

General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye...Photo Credit: IG/ thehgservice

The Redeemed Christian Church of God has urged journalists and media organisations to verify photographs and establish their original contexts before publication, warning that recycled images could be used to mislead the public.

The church made the appeal on Monday in a statement issued by its Department of Strategic Communications following the circulation of an old photograph of its General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, which it said had been given a misleading interpretation.

The photograph, showing Adeboye carrying a placard, had circulated on social media with claims that he participated in a protest against the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

However, the church said the photograph was taken during a peaceful nationwide prayer walk on February 2, 2020, organised following a directive by the Christian Association of Nigeria.

The exercise was held to mourn Nigerians killed in various incidents and seek divine intervention over insecurity and killings across the country.

Adeboye had previously explained that the exercise was a prayer walk and not a political protest against Jonathan, who left office in 2015.

Speaking during the church’s November Thanksgiving Service, he said the photograph had been misrepresented because its original date and circumstances were not established before it was circulated.

“True, I carried a placard. I can’t deny that. It was important. It was a prayer walk. We wanted to pray,” he said.

He also recalled that the exercise followed a directive from the leadership of CAN for churches to organise prayer walks around their premises.

“The chairman said all churches should do a prayer walk near their churches. That’s what I did,” Adeboye said.

He further questioned the failure of journalists to investigate the circumstances surrounding the photograph before publishing reports about it.

“That things don’t appear as they may seem. Investigate, if you have a story, before you take it to the press,” he said.

In its latest statement, the RCCG said the photograph had been recycled and recaptioned to create a false impression about the cleric’s position on successive administrations.

“The image is real; the framing placed upon it is not,” the church said.

It added that independent fact-checkers who examined the claims also found them misleading, noting that the photograph traced to the 2020 prayer walk and that there was no evidence of the street protest it had been made to represent.

The church said the appeal to journalists was consistent with the message of the November Thanksgiving Service, which was dedicated to members of the creative industry, including filmmakers, musicians, writers, designers and content creators.

Adeboye urged creative professionals to use their platforms responsibly.

He said their influence over public opinion and national conversations came with a responsibility to promote positive values.

He charged them to tell stories that build character, promote truth and integrity, and give hope, rather than diminish society.

“In an age when a single post can travel further than a sermon,” the church said, “those who shape what Nigerians see and hear should understand that their influence is a stewardship, not merely a trade”.

The church also maintained that Adeboye had consistently spoken on national concerns, including insecurity, the sanctity of life, justice and the need for righteous leadership, through prayers, counsel and moral appeals.

It said the church prayed for people in positions of authority across successive administrations but did not endorse any political party.

“The Redeemed Christian Church of God prays for all who hold authority, and endorses none,” the statement added.

The church urged media organisations seeking clarification on reports involving its leadership to contact its Department of Strategic Communications, saying its official channels remained open to newsrooms.