Against the backdrop of the coronavirus epidemic in the UK, vandalism has increased in relation to cell towers. Fortune and The Guardian report that at least 20 towers have been damaged in recent days.
The media note that such actions are caused by the spread of information on the Internet about the impact of 5G type cellular networks on the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic. Local media reported that such cases were recorded in Belfast, Liverpool and Birmingham. On April 4, a video on a burning cell tower was published in a Facebook community dedicated to living in Birmingham.
All four UK mobile operators that intend to use the 5G standard - BT Group Plc, Vodafone Group Plc, Telefonica SA's O2 and CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd - condemned acts of vandalism. In a joint statement, they called for not to spoil the infrastructure that provides communications during a crisis.
The situation was also noticed in the British government. British Minister of Environment, Food and Agriculture Michael Gove called the reports of the link 5G and coronavirus "dangerous nonsense."
The director of the English unit of the National Health Service, Stephen Powis, also spoke on this subject.
“This 5G tale is complete and utter nonsense, nonsense, the worst manifestation of fake news,” Business Insider quoted the medical official as saying.
In addition, notes Business Insider, this theory is refuted by the existence of an epidemic in countries where 5G technology is not represented at all, for example, in Iran.
Recall that 5G emission is limited to the lower limits of ICNIRP standards. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), such a spectrum of electromagnetic radiation does not pose a health hazard.
5G technology does not affect the coronavirus epidemic in any way, a professor at the Moscow Medical Academy named after A.T. Sechenov, academician of RAMS Pavel Vorobyov.
“Such theories have no scientific justification. Foolish people may believe that everything affects the spread of coronavirus. However, from a medical point of view, this is not so, ”- stressed the professor.
Conspirologists and Celebrities
One post about the 5G connection with the epidemic said that in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the epidemic began, the deployment of mobile networks operating according to the 5G communication standard was launched.
- British Minister of Environment, Food, and Agriculture Michael Gove and Director of the English Division of the National Health Service Stephen Powis
- Reuters
- © Pippa Fowles / 10 Downing Street
The Guardian newspaper notes that the administration of the Facebook social network has repeatedly had to delete pages and groups in which citizens were urged to commit acts of vandalism based on such messages.
Theories about 5G connectivity and epidemics also apply to YouTube video hosting. So, on April 3, the popular British conspiracy therapist David Ike posted a corresponding video on this topic on his channel.
- © YouTube
His presentation entitled "What is the relationship between COVID-19 and 5G?" 430 thousand people watched in four days. At the same time, an interview with Ike, a former TV presenter and sports commentator on the BBC, was deleted on the same topic from the popular YouTube channel London Real due to a discrepancy with the rules of video hosting.
Such messages are distributed not only by conspiracy theorists, but also by Hollywood celebrities. So, actor Woody Harrelsnon shared a text on his Instagram page that raises questions about the potential role of “5G radiation” in the development of coronavirus infection.
The Business Insider notes that the text distributed by the actor is an article by one of the former professors of the University of Washington, which he published privately.
The New York Post reports that the post has collected more than 25 thousand likes, but was subsequently deleted.
The British singer Maya Arulpragasam, speaking under the name MIA, spoke about the possible connection of 5G networks and coronavirus in her Twitter
“I don’t think 5G could infect you with the COVID-19 coronavirus. But I believe that it can complicate or slow down the healing process, because along with coronavirus disease, the body learns to withstand new signals, wavelength and frequency, ”she wrote.
According to an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies, Vladimir Bruter, the actions of the vandals can be compared with the British movement of the Luddites of the early 19th century, destroying machine tools and machines.
“They already had Luddites who destroyed cars because they believed that the industrial revolution posed a threat to their stable and comfortable life. Western man, in fact, unlike our ideas about him, is rather inert. When he receives sensational information about the dangers of these technologies, such strange subjects appear, for example, Greta Tunberg or 5G network destroyers, ”the expert noted.
Vladimir Bruter added that a large amount of unverified information, coupled with a difficult epidemiological situation, can create an atmosphere of mass hysteria, which leads to similar consequences.
Fake Fights
Since March 30, the UK authorities have organized a special group to combat disinformation about the situation with coronavirus. According to a report on the British government’s website, the group’s specialists identify up to 70 cases of fake distribution per week - from statements by fake experts to fraud attempts against the background of the spread of the disease.
To combat fakes, the British government will post rebuttals, promote the right medical information or remove content that is controversial.
As political analyst Alexander Asafov noted in a conversation with RT, mass hysteria leads to the spread of fakes.
“In the era of general neuroticism, people lack critical thinking. In addition, they do not believe official sources after the state propaganda of Great Britain tried to feed its citizens with fakes about, for example, Russia's participation in the alleged poisoning of the Skripals. Therefore, citizens believe charlatans, information provocateurs, which leads to such consequences, ”said the expert.
The political scientist added that the measures taken by the British authorities to combat fakes about the coronavirus cannot be called effective.
It is worth noting that measures to combat the spread of fakes about the situation with the coronavirus are also being taken in Russia. On April 1, Vladimir Putin signed the law on criminal liability for the distribution of fake emergency situations.
In accordance with a new article of the Criminal Code, the spread of false information may face a fine in the amount of 300 thousand to 700 thousand rubles or restriction of liberty for up to three years.
According to experts, Russia has much more experience in combating such fakes, as the country often becomes the object of information attacks.
“Russia knows how to deal with this, how to prevent it, so now we are not seeing panic among Russian society. Britain has experience in creating fakes, but it does not know how to defend itself against this, therefore their cellular infrastructure is now suffering, ”the expert concluded.