12. 5G has caused COVID-19. Fake or not?
In March 2020, a Facebook user named Ben Mackie falsely linked 5G to the coronavirus, saying in part that it’s not actually a virus. “They are trying to get u scared of a fake ass virus when it the 5G towers being built around the world,” he said. He also claimed that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates invented the technology and that it’s an effort to depopulate the world. And Mackie said that vaccines being developed for the coronavirus are actually chips that will be implanted in people.
The idea that 5G could have health implications isn’t new. But conspiracy theories linking 5G with Covid-19 went viral during lockdown. By May 2020, one survey in UK found 20% believed to some extent that the virus is a hoax. Major health organisations have said that 5G is safe and that there’s no link between it and coronavirus. But while most of the UK was isolating at home, anti-5G protesters took to the streets. There were also attacks on telecoms workers, and almost 100 mobile masts were set on fire. See more here and here
False theories linking 5G to coronavirus usually come in two varieties. They claimed:
- 5G weakens the immune system, making us more vulnerable to catching the virus
- The virus can be transmitted through 5G networks
The researchers observed that searches related to the new coronavirus and 5G started at different times but peaked in the same week of April 2020 for six of the countries, reports Medical News Today. The U.K. and South Africa observed a peak during the previous week. The volume of searches for 5G also doubled in size at a faster rate than other search terms. TikTok videos from accounts with huge followings have received tens of thousands of views and a number of high-profile celebrities have been sharing conspiracy theories about 5G on Instagram and Twitter.
HOW CAN WE VERIFY THIS?
The Covid-19 pandemic is caused by a novel form of a coronavirus and there is no evidence that 5G technology has any effect on people’s health at all. Scientists have made it clear that there is no link between 5G and coronavirus. A connection with the virus is ‘both a physical and biological impossibility’. This is a conspiracy theory that has come about as a result of false information online. Damaging telecoms infrastructure is particularly dangerous and anyone responsible for these criminal acts will face the full force of the law.
5G is an information technology that allows for faster mobile internet communication and will allow for new innovative services. After extensive trials OFCOM, measured 5G sites in various towns and cities across the UK, focusing on areas where mobile use is likely to be highest. At every site, emissions were a small fraction of the levels included in international guidelines, as set by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). And the maximum measured at any site was 1.5% of those levels.
WHAT ARE OTHER SOURCES SAYING?
Concerns about 5G technology have been around since before the coronavirus outbreak. 5G uses radio waves to transmit mobile data over its networks, just like with 4G and 3G. It uses a frequency at the lower end of the electromagnetic spectrum, which means the waves are not strong enough to damage human cells. Frequencies at the higher end of the spectrum can be harmful to humans, such as x-rays or ultra-violet light. However, 5G is well below this level, with measurements showing it is 66 times below the safety limit for harmful radiation set by international guidelines.
5G has no link to COVID-19 but false conspiracy theories persist
“It’s a ridiculous concept,” said John Bucher, a senior scientist with the National Toxicology Program, a US Health and Human Services interagency program dedicated to testing and evaluating substances in our environment. “Each year, you get a new strain of flu that goes around. That’s what viruses do, they mutate and move around that way, probably as long as there’s been life.”
Besides Medical News Today and many other scientific research papers, BBC researched the origins of this fake story, and it can be found here
Scientific explanations can be found also here
UNICEF also published the report on the topic
FAKE OR NOT?
5G is scientifically proven to be safe. This is as fake as it gets!
