Warm up

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What industry do you work in and what is your role?
What are your responses in your role / position?
Can you describe to the function of your workplace / company?
How many departments, how many offices. National or International?
What are the minimum requirements for employment ie Education or Experience?
How many opportunities are there to ‘move up the ladder’?
What is the process for changing job roles ie Interview? Test?

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General discussion about your workweek:

Current projects? Deadlines? Opportunities?
Anything of interest happening?

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Script

1. A bizarre conspiracy linking 5G and coronavirus has taken hold in the UK and is being peddled by conspiracy theorists and celebrities on social media. The theory runs roughly like this: the rollout of faster 5G internet is either causing or accelerating the spread of the coronavirus. It’s hard to pinpoint the source of the theory, and BI first heard a variant of the rumor in early March. As the pandemic continues, the conspiracy appears to have picked up steam. The conspiracy theory and its various offshoots are baseless but have led to real-world harm, with over 70 arson attacks on phone masts around the country.

2. Here’s everything we know about how the conspiracy theory began to circulate: 5G conspiracy theories have been around since at least 2019.

5G is the next generation of mobile broadband. It will offer faster speeds than 4G or 3G, and is currently being rolled out in different countries.

There have been conspiracy theorists about the supposed harm of 5G radio waves since the tech began gaining public attention. The basic idea is: 5G is more powerful than 4G or 3G, and is therefore dangerous to humans and animals.

3. There is no evidence that 5G — or any other kind of radio waves — are harmful to people.

Using your phone relies on radio waves, which are on the low end of the electromagnetic spectrum, and as such produce non-ionizing radiation. This means they do not damage the DNA in cell tissue, and don’t cause cancer. International radiation watchdog the International Commission on Non‐Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) set new guidelines for 5G frequency last month and confirmed that the frequencies at which 5G will be deployed will be safe.

4. “The guidelines have been developed after a thorough review of all relevant scientific literature, scientific workshops and an extensive public consultation process. They provide protection against all scientifically substantiated adverse health effects due to [electromagnetic field] exposure in the 100 kHz to 300 GHz range,” ICNIRP chair Dr Eric van Rongen told the Guardian.

5. As the coronavirus spread, conspiracy theorists began to pin the blame on 5G. As the coronavirus spread, the 5G conspiracy theory mutated to suggest that rollout of the tech had somehow exacerbated the pandemic. Full Fact’s first debunking of the theory hinged on a Facebook post which claimed Wuhan in China — where the coronavirus outbreak first began — is also where 5G began to roll out.

6. The post rested on the pre-existing conspiracy theory that 5G suppresses people’s immune systems. It was posted to an anti-5G Facebook group, and was subsequently marked by Facebook as misinformation. According to Facebook, the post had just over 300 shares. There is no evidence to suggest that Wuhan was the very first Chinese city to start building out 5G, but rather multiple reports found by Full Fact said it was among multiple cities selected to pilot the technology.

7. On March 13, Full Fact identified and debunked another more widely-shared Facebook post blamed billionaire Bill Gates.

According to Full Fact, this post claimed that coronavirus is a fiction invented to cover up the physical damage being done by 5G. It also claimed that the coronavirus was invented by Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates to control the world by creating a vaccine for it. There is no coronavirus vaccine currently or a proven cure, but Gates has said he is funding vaccine candidates. The post has now been removed from Facebook, but according to Full Fact, it was shared thousands of times. The New York Times reported in April that conspiracy theories blaming Bill Gates for the pandemic were exploding online, and being picked up by some conservative pundits.

8. Coronavirus has spread rapidly in countries with no 5. As Full Fact points out in a more recent dismantling of the conspiracy theory, the coronavirus outbreak has had a profound impact on countries with no 5G coverage, such as Iran.

9. The theory had crystallized enough by March 26 that a British tabloid ran an article on it. An article by the Daily Star was originally headlined “Coronavirus: Fears 5G wifi networks could be acting as ‘accelerator’ for disease,” but was subsequently changed to “Coronavirus: Activists in bizarre claim 5G could be acting as ‘accelerator’ for disease.”

10. Some celebrities began to amplify the theory. Actor Woody Harrelson shared a chunk of text on Instagram which suggested 5G could be “exacerbating” the pandemic. The text is an excerpt from an article by Martin Pall, a retired professor from Washington State University, who has also pushed a theory that Wi-Fi is harmful to human health.“A lot of my friends have been talking about the negative effects of 5G,” Harrelson wrote in the caption.“Though I haven’t fully vetted it I find it very interesting,”

11. A British TV presenter was investigated after appearing to link 5G and the coronavirus.

“This Morning” presenter Eamonn Holmes rebuked another journalist’s dismissal of the conspiracy theory live on television.

“I totally agree with everything you are saying but what I don’t accept is mainstream media immediately slapping that down as not true when they don’t know it’s not true. No one should attack or damage or do anything like that, but it’s very easy to say it is not true because it suits the state narrative. That’s all I would say, as someone with an inquiring mind,” Holmes said.

Subsequently UK media regulator Ofcom launched an investigation after receiving 419 complaints from viewers. Holmes said he does not believe in the conspiracy theory, and that his comments had been “misinterpreted.”

12. In early April, arsonists upped their attacks on phone masts in the UK. Phone masts in Birmingham, Liverpool, and Belfast were damaged in arson attacks in early April. Not all the masts were necessarily 5G towers.

While it’s not yet absolutely certain what motivated these specific attacks, the mayor of Liverpool said he had received threats after condemning the 5G/coronavirus theory, and the Irish News reported that in footage of the mast being set on fire voices could be heard saying “f**k 5G.”

Mobile telecoms expert Peter Clarke discovered a Facebook group — now deleted — urging people to burn 5G towers, and reported it

13. Some 50 masts have now been targeted by arson attacks despite appeals from the government and mobile companies.

A rash of attacks came during the UK’s four-day Easter holiday from April 10 to 13, and industry group Mobile UK told Business Insider approximately 50 masts had been vandalized.

This included a mast that was providing coverage for an emergency coronavirus hospital in Birmingham.

Mobile UK said that the vast majority of the attacked sites were not in fact 5G masts.

14. Big tech is taking some action to crack down on the conspiracy theories.

The coronavirus/5G conspiracy theories have visibly spread online.

A Facebook spokesman told Business Insider: “We are taking aggressive steps to stop misinformation and harmful content from spreading on our platforms and connect people to accurate information about Coronavirus.

“Under our existing policies against harmful misinformation, we are starting to remove false claims which link COVID-19 to 5G technology and could lead to physical harm.”

Meanwhile YouTube said it will remove videos which link 5G and the coronavirus.

“We have clear policies that prohibit videos promoting medically unsubstantiated methods to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment, and we quickly remove videos violating these policies when flagged to us,” a YouTube spokeswoman told Business Insider.

She added that “borderline” videos about 5G which don’t mention coronavirus may be allowed to remain on the site.

In May YouTube removed the YouTube channel of notorious conspiracy theorist David Icke for spreading the theory.

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-conspiracy-5g-masts-fire-2020-4