5G myth spread fastest

COVID19 is a disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 that can trigger what doctors call a respiratory tract infection (nose, sinuses, or upper throat). In early 2020 after a December 2019 outbreak in China the World Health Organization (WHO) identified this new type of corona virus. It spreads mainly through person-to-person contract and it ranges from mild to deadly. The proliferation of conspiracy theories on social media platforms are faster than the spread of corona virus disease (COVID19). From one person eating some rather questionable food at a Chinese wet market to a virus which masked the face of the whole world in a matter of months. 

COVID-19 started off where not even one person in the world was expecting it nor had thought it would be what we must live with till thus far, it created a moment of cultural change and it created conspiracy theories and myths, not because people saw it fit to spread such information, but I think it is because, so little was/ still is known about COVID-19 as it was emerging. One out of a thousand of the conspiracy theories about COVID-19 was that 5G network towers cause corona virus, or that 5G weakens the immune system’s cellular defence making people more vulnerable to COVID-19. The first known online appearance of the theory was tweeted on January 19th from an anonymous account that regularly posts pro-Russian government content.

This theory claimed that 5G was secretly developed by governments as a weapon to threaten and control people. The conspiracy theories about 5G technology were brewing before COVID-19 emerged, though they were much less visible. These theories against 5G drove people to hold protests during the pandemic and set fires to 5G towers. There was no evidence that 5G is dangerous to human health, and this proves how conspiracy theories get to people. People want a scapegoat for the immense suffering and economic fallout caused by COVID-19 hence it is easy to misinform them, one tweet can completely change how a person thinks. 5G is a non-ionizing radiation similar to the radiation used in a microwave that doesn’t appear to penetrate human skin. Senior researcher at the Next Generation Health, Essa Sulemen, said that there was no correlation between 5G distribution and COVID-19.

People might have twitted and fed people false information, but truth is that 5G is the next generation of wireless technology that promises to speed up wireless networks, changing the way people live, work, and even travel with information sent instantly to autonomous cars. Therefore, the misinformation related to 5G telephone networks does not spread COVID-19 and viruses do not circulate over radio waves or mobile networks. Moreover, COVID-19 is spreading over countries that do not even have 5G mobile network.