The conspiracy theories and sabotage concerns both healthcare experts, telecom companies and politicians. Michael Gove, Minister for the Cabinet of Ministers, recently called the alleged link dangerous dangerous talk.

- Worst kind of fake news, said Stephen Powis, medical director of the British healthcare system NHS.

And the telecom company EE warns that the attacks can lead to operational disruptions that can cost lives.

- The most dangerous thing about this is not that you set fire to 5G masts. The most dangerous thing is that false information about the corona virus is spread, which can lead to more people ignoring the dangers and getting infected, says Kent Werne, journalist and author of the book "Everything is a conspiracy", to SVT.

Kent Werne also notes that the fear of radiation from mobile networks is nothing new.

- We saw the same kind of radiation criticism, the same fear, when 3G and 4G were introduced. But the 5G network is being expanded at the same time as the corona pandemic has hit the world. It is a coincidence but in some people's eyes there is a connection here. In their eyes, the corona virus is a scam, a cover for something else, ie 5G which is the real problem.

Razor blade on anti-5G posters

The escalated situation makes the British telecom engineers feel increasingly unsafe at work. Telecom operators have issued a warning that they found razor blades and needles attached to the back of anti-5G posters on telephone poles, especially in London.

British telecom giant BT's OpenReach broadband unit reports that attacks against telecom engineers have increased dramatically. Since April 1, 56 attacks have taken place, compared to 42 during the whole of last year. It is about both verbal and physical attacks fueled by the conspiracy theories about 5G and the corona virus, the British BBC writes.

Crises give birth to conspiracies

According to Kent Werne, conspiracy theories often arise in crisis situations.

- It can be wars, economic crises or pandemics. It's basically about fear. People seize explanations, for obvious reasons. Then the conspiracy theories arise. You find villains that you can direct your fear and anger towards. And people like to take what confirms their prejudice, Kent Werne says.