BBC reports that there have been three cases of 5G towers being set ablaze in Birmingham, Liverpool and Melling in Merseyside as conspiracy theories linking it to the spread of the coronavirus continues to gain popularity.
According to the report, it stems from a YouTube video showing an alleged burning 5G mast in Aigburth, Liverpool. The video also includes a man saying “5G burning” over and over again. See the video below:
This action has been linked to people who believe that 5G and the coronavirus are somehow related. Comments under the video above also suggest the same thing.
Meanwhile, the authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire. However, several telecommunication experts have denied these claims, saying they are baseless and lack facts.
You can also read more on these here: Experts Say No Correlation Between 5G And Cancer Or Any Other Diseases
The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is one of such authorities to have said this. Through its Twitter page, it said:
“We are aware of inaccurate information being shared online about 5G. There is absolutely no credible evidence of a link between 5G and coronavirus.”
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Most of the theories that abound are from two schools of thought. According to Full Fact, a fact-checking organisation:
One of the theories is that “electromagnetic radiation from 5G suppresses the immune system, helping the virus to thrive”.
Full Fact discredits this assumption by explaining that: “The level of radiation from 5G is far below levels of electromagnetic radiation thought to cause damage to cells in the human body.”
The second theory believes that the viruses communicate with each other “when making decisions about infecting a host”.
Full Fact again tarnishes this myth. It first points to the fact that this theory is based on a 2011 research paper which suggested that bacteria may produce electromagnetic signals to communicate with other bacteria. This hypothesis is still largely disputed. Also, it refers to bacteria and not viruses like the new coronavirus.
Yet, it seems that there is no stopping the conspiracy about 5G being the cause of the coronavirus. The Verge reports that people are even harassing workers laying fiber optic cables for 5G installations. They claim to do this because they believe that when 5G is turned on it’s going to “kill everyone.”
There are several other conspiracy theories about 5G and the coronavirus. However, one should also note that coronavirus has spread to countries where 5G is not even in use.
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