the conspiracy theories about 5G and covid-19 that led to the burning of cell phone masts in the United Kingdom

Conspiracy theories that support 5G cellular technology helps transmit the coronavirus were rejected by the scientific community in the UK.

The condemnation of these theories arose after videos showing the burning of telephone towers in Birmingham and Merseyside (in the center and northwest of the country, respectively) were shared on social networks last week , along with messages linking this technology with the covid-19.

The posts were shared on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram by users including some with verified accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.

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Researchers claim that the idea that the two are linked is “pure rubbish” and biologically impossible.

Stephen Powis, medical director of England’s National Health Service, called it “the worst kind of fake news.

Theories

Many of those who share these publications falsely claim that 5G – which is used in cell phone networks and uses signals that are transmitted by radio waves – is somehow responsible for the coronavirus pandemic.

These theories appear to have first emerged in Facebook posts in late January, around the same time that the first cases of covid-19 were recorded in the United States.

In general there are two trends:

• One that claims that 5G can render the immune system useless , and therefore makes people more susceptible to contracting the virus.
• The other says that the virus can be transmitted in some way through the use of 5G technology.

These two notions are “total rubbish,” says Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading in the UK.

• “It is not a laboratory creation”: how a group of scientists managed to demonstrate the natural origin of the new coronavirus.The idea that 5G reduces the capacity of your immune system doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, ” says Clarke.

  “Your immune system can be weakened by a variety of things – being tired one day or not following a good diet – but while these fluctuations are not huge, they can make you more susceptible to contracting the virus.”

  Low frequency

  While very strong radio waves can generate heat, 5G is not strong enough to raise people’s temperatures and this has a significant effect.

  • “We have to put garbage bags on our heads”: doctor who cares for the most serious covid-19 patients in the United Kingdom

  “Radio waves can interfere with your physiology because they heat you up, rendering your immune system unable to function. But (the energy levels of) 5G radio waves are tiny and not in the least strong enough as to affect the immune system, “explains the expert.

  The radio waves involved in 5G and other cell phone technologies are found in the low frequency of the electromagnetic spectrum.

  Less powerful than visible light, they are not powerful enough to damage cells, unlike radiation in the highest frequency of the spectrum that includes sunlight and medical X-rays.

  It would also be impossible for 5G to transmit the virus, adds Adam Finn, professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol, UK.

  “The current epidemic is caused by a virus that is passed from one infected person to another. We know this is true. We even have the virus growing in our laboratory, which we got from a sick person,” explains Finn.

  “The viruses and electromagnetic waves that make cell phone and internet connections possible do different things. As different as water and oil.”

  Contradiction of theory

  It is also important to highlight a big flaw in conspiracy theories: the coronavirus is spreading through cities in the United Kingdom that do not yet have 5G technology, and in countries like Iran, where this technology does not yet exist.

  And remember that before the coronavirus outbreak, numerous stories circulated that instilled fear about 5G.

  Earlier this year, a study by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) rejected these conspiracy theories, stating that there is no evidence that cell phone networks cause cancer or other diseases.

  Still, misinformation appears to have increased.