CONSPIRACY nuts are reportedly setting phone masts alight and targeting engineers after a bizarre claim 5G “radiation” caused the deadly coronavirus spread.
The theory originated last month after a video filmed at a US health conference claimed Africa was not as affected by the disease because it is “not a 5G region”. The myth was quickly debunked after the World Health Organisation confirmed there were thousands of Covid-19 cases in Africa. The government has also confirmed there is “no evidence to suggest that 5G has anything to do with Covid-19”. Celebs have been slammed for sharing the conspiracy theory, including Jason Gardiner and Callum Best, who posted similar claims that 5G can impact the immune syste. But the claims have still been doing the rounds on WhatsApp via a lengthy voice note – with phone masts now being set alight in the UK. Engineers are now also being targeted with social media users encouraging each other to destroy the masts in a Stop 5G Facebook group.
One telecoms engineer, who didn’t wish to be named, said: “There are Facebook groups posting videos of the masts being set on fire and people encouraging others to do the same. “Wuhan was a test bed for the 5G rollout but is a dumbfounded connection.” Mobile UK, who represent networks EE, 02, Three and Vodafone, confirmed to The Sun Online some workers had been abused over the false claims. They said in a statement: “During this challenging situation, it is concerning that certain groups are using the COVID-19 pandemic to spread false rumours and theories about the safety of 5G technologies. “More worryingly some people are also abusing our key workers and making threats to damage infrastructure under the pretence of claims about 5G.