The latest Coronavirus conspiracy theory making the round put the blame on 5G.
5G is the fifth generation of wireless communications technologies supporting cellular data networks. Large scale adoption began in 2019 and today virtually every telecommunication service provider in the developed world is upgrading its infrastructure to offer 5G functionality.
Shocking videos emerged online on Thursday night of phone masts ablaze, including one in Birmingham and one in Coventry of England.
The footage posted to Facebook captured the moment the 70ft (21m) masts erupted in flames, with firefighters dispatched to tackle the inferno.
Several videos claiming to show 5G towers on fire were posted to a page on Facebook, which encouraged others to do the same.
The page was created on Thursday and taken down by Facebook on Friday morning.
Mobile UK, the trade body which represents network providers, said it is ‘concerning that certain groups are using the Covid-19 pandemic to spread false rumours and theories about the safety of 5G technologies’.
‘More worryingly some people are also abusing our key workers and making threats to damage infrastructure under the pretence of claims about 5G,’ a statement said.
As at press time, Videos with the title “FORMER VODAFONE BOSS BLOWS WHISTLE ON 5G CORONAVIRUS” are flooding YouTube from various accounts espousing that COVID-19 is caused by 5G.
People die from the radio frequencies from 5G one of the videos which has reached some 13,000 views as of press time says.
The world wants to embrace 5G technologies including West Africa countries. In Nigeria – the largest economic nation in West Africa – Government and private entities are seeking massive investment in the wireless communication technologies to boost economic growth of the country.
MTN Nigeria – in response – recently launched a nationwide campaign on the roll-out of 5G – which supports cellular data network service for voice and data telecommunication offerings in the country.
But, despite YouTube and Facebook efforts working to combat misinformation around COVID-19 the new crop of fake videos is making it through.
COVID-19 is a coronavirus, like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), both of which are believed to have originated in animals.
COVID-19 is also a respiratory illness that likely came from an animal. It is transmitted through “respiratory droplets” that come from coughs and sneezes.
That is why regions where people live in close proximity to each other, like New York, are seeing the disease advance quickly. It’s also why people who self-isolate are likely to avoid getting the virus if they don’t already have it.
Beyond the clear medical fact that the coronavirus is a virus, not some toxicity caused by 5G, COVID-19 has also spread everywhere, including places that don’t have 5G. In the U.S., 5G is fairly limited, and its slow rollout does not cover much of the country yet.
There is a lot of misinformation circling about the coronavirus, both in the U.S. and outside of it, leading the World Health Organization to dub this phenomenon an “infodemic.”
In the U.K. this week, the government’s media regulator told broadcasters they would face sanctions if they helped to spread any baseless theories linking 5G with the coronavirus.
This conspiracy theory has been building since at least mid-March. The number of videos recently published on YouTube, however, show there’s renewed force to spread it.
