Claim: “The Jorweah government has shut down Spoon FM Radio
Karishma Pelham-Raad, a supporter of the opposition Unity Party, has posted on her Facebook page that the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)-led government headed by George M. Weah has shut down Spoon F.M.
She is one of the women candidates who contested in the just-ended October 10, 2023, elections in Montserrado County District #10 but was unsuccessful.
Pelham-Raad is referred to as JNB’s “granddaughter” and is a fervent supporter of the opposition Unity Party.
There were 116 reactions, 9 shares, and 47 comments on Raad’s post.
Spoon Network comprises Farbric 101.1/Live TV, which was acquired in October 2020, and Super FM/Live TV/Super TV Channel 10, which was also acquired in November 2020.
Spoon Network has been critical of the Weah-led government since the general elections of 2023, leading its former CEO to endorse the opposition Unity Party.
There have been a lot of panellists on Spoon Talk who back the main opposition supporters, UP.
They consistently talked about subjects opposing the CDC’s ruling.
Background
It can be recalled that Spoon Network was shut down on July 14, 2023, after an order from Civil Law Court A.
According to reports, the court’s orders were predicated on a defamation lawsuit filed by the former acting Director General of the Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo-Information Service (LISGIS), Mr. Wilmot Smith, against Spoon Network and its former Chief Executive Officer, Stanton Witherspoon.
However, Judge Kennedy Peabody ordered the reopening of the network after a motion to vacate the attachment filed by the management of Spoon Network on Wednesday, August 23, 2023.
Verification: The Stage Media (TSM) listened (1:46:71) to the outlet’s Tuesday edition and discovered that even though the former network’s CEO, Witherspoon, who is the lead moderator, disclosed that they received intelligence that the Liberian National Police were sending men to shut down the network, he never made mention of the station being showdown.
However, during the same live (2:04:05) TSM reporter also watched a video where Montserrado County District #10 Representative, Yekeh Kolubah, George B. Kailondo, and many UP supporters gathered at the network to resist the LNP from shutting down the station.
During the live broadcast, Witherspoon revealed that the technicians had found evidence of network frequency hacking, which prevented the station from reaching its intended audience.
Witherspoon spoke about the station’s congestion throughout the entire show, but he also urged viewers to tune in to the network’s sister stations, Punch F.M. and others, which are also airing live videos.
conclusion: the network of the station was hacked, as both listeners and the former CEO of the station attested. It is reasonable to conclude that during the runoff election on November 14, 2023, the station was never shut down by the authorities. As a result, Pelham-Raad’s claim is misleading.
