After online conspiracy theories have misleadingly linked the cell towers to the coronavirus pandemic, 5G phone masts are being set alight in the UK.

5G Towers Being Set On Fire

The BBC reports that at least three 5G towers were set alight within the last week. A Vodafone UK spokesperson confirmed to The Verge that four cell towers were targeted in the past 24 hours.

Rumours and conspiracy theories over a link between the rollout of 5G and the spread of coronavirus have been spread primarily through social media networks.

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A variety of groups exist on Facebook where thousands of members repeat false claims that 5G is supposedly harmful.

One theory claims that the novel coronavirus originated in Wuhan. They say that the Chinese city had recently been rolling out 5G. It’s now supposedly spread to other cities that are also using 5G.

These false conspiracy theories neglect to mention that a highly contagious virus would naturally spread more in densely populated cities. They also fail to mention that the coronavirus pandemic has hit counties like Iran and Japan where 5G isn’t in use yet.

Debunked: 5G Caused The Coronavirus Outbreak

Image courtesy CIO

First up, 5G radio waves do not cause any diseases or create viruses. In fact, there is absolutely no evidence that radio waves would create or cause any virus to mutate.

5G currently exists in its most basic level. This makes it identical to any other wireless technology. Given that these waves have never caused any known problems before, it would then be false to claim that 5G radio waves can suddenly create a virus and cause an outbreak.

Coronavirus was a “zoonotic transmission from animals to human beings, which is what caused the problem”.

Youtube Steps Up

In light of this, The Guardian reported  that YouTube said it would reduce the number of videos, which spread false claims that 5G technology is linked to the coronavirus,  it recommends to users

The company said it will remove videos that violate its policies. It may allow other conspiracy-themed content about 5G which doesn’t mention the coronavirus to remain on the site as “borderline content.” Those videos could be suppressed and removed from search results.