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Just a little history. Since 1960, coronavirus strains have been identified and typically cause up to 15 percent of common human colds annually, mostly in mild forms.
But to many, coronavirus is a new disease. However, serious diseases have been caused by two previous forms of coronavirus such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002, with severe acute respiratory distress resulting in 9.6% mortality; and Middle East respiratory syndrome with a 34.4% higher mortality rate in 2012.
The seventh coronavirus known to infect humans, the novel coronavirus (SARS coronavirus 2), is a positive single-tranded RNA virus that possibly originated in the Wuhan seafood market in December 2019.
That’s when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation. This has led to various conspiracies shared by social media users across the world how China, Bill Gates and 5G are causing and spreading COVID-19. The misinformation led to 5G towers being burned in the United Kingdom and across various countries in Europe, Latin America and Middle East. However, according to scientists, all these are false news and conspiracy theorists spreading misinformation for their own gain.
5G wireless communications offer high data rates, provide low latency and improve the capability of base stations and perceived quality of service relative to current 4G networks. Due to the burst in smart electronic devices and wireless multimedia demand, which placed a strain on existing networks, the popularity of this technology emerged. The main advantage of 5G is that it can address some of the current problems with cellular networks, such as low data speeds, power, service quality, and latency. While no scientific evidence exists, it is proposed that technology has a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of some social media channels.
The idea that 5G degrades the immune system is probably the most prevalent of all the hypotheses, and that this has helped spread COVID-19. Firstly, there is no 5G service actually in many of the hardest-hit countries. For example, there are over 114,000 confirmed instances in Iran – and no 5G masts.
Secondly, the theory that 5G is harmful to the immune system is almost the same assertion that we saw when they all launched 2G, 3G, 4G and WiFi. 5G waves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum and it is true that at the end of the electromagnetic spectrum, higher frequency radiation. That’s because these high-requency waves are “ionizing,” meaning that if penetration is too high, they can cause internal harm to our bodies.
As an example, take X-Rays. These penetrate the body and are used for medical imaging, so it is important to minimize the exposure of a patient. 5G is “non-ionising” in a
band of low-frequency waves, like WiFi. That non-ionizing radiation does not cause internal harm to our cells has been demonstrated by the vast weight of scientific evidence. So if we listen to science, the simple truth is that either by transmitting the virus or by weakening our immune response, 5G can’t be behind the pandemic.
In the modern media world and the way false news and conspiracy theories spread, the root of this theory shows the transnational dimension.
Previous studies have traced the rise of the conspiracy theory to comments made in January 2020 by a Belgian doctor, relating health fears regarding 5G to the emergence of coronavirus.
It is estimated that at least 20 mobile telephone masts in the United Kingdom alone have been vandalized from 2 to 6 April 2020. For a subset of the population, social media is a significant source of knowledge, and previous seminal research has acknowledged Twitter’s ability to provide real-time content analysis. Enabling public health agencies to respond quickly to the public’s concerns. Latest research has shown that channels such as YouTube have enormous scope and can be used to inform the public during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
One such conspiracy theorist is Barrie Trower, who argued that the 5G is to blame for the rapid spread of COVID-19. He claims it degrades the immune system and that influential forces in the global telecommunications industry are covering up the risks. With these strong and baseless opinions, Barrie was part of a tiny minority three months ago.
But as COVID-19 spread and the world locked down, all of that shifted and he grew into a huge following. These led to telecom engineers being spat on, harassed, and chased down the streets ever since and phone masts in Europe have been set alight. However, the truth remains, scientists, maintain that COVID-19 is only spread through respiratory droplets and not through 5G waves.
