Early in 2020, just as the world was trying to grasp the complexities of COVID, there was also rising concern about 5G towers being built. This not only caused many people to believe that 5G technology spread COVID or reduced one's immunity to contract COVID, but also that 5G could be linked to other health concerns such as cancer and infertility. The blog post in Scientific America written by Moskowitz (2019) is one example of health misinformation being shared, resulting in public health threats. Not only was this a concern to many, but there was very little that could be done to avoid where the towers were being built. The inability to have control over one's safety only caused more concern and stress amongst the general public. Celebrities were also considered "superspreaders" of conspiracy theories; as noted by Cockerell (2020). Woody Harrelson, Wiz Khalifa, and Keri Hilson are a small number of celebrities that were posting information on social media to support the link between COVID and 5G technologies (Cockerell, 2020). The news report from Global News below demonstrates the extremes that were being taken in response to this conspiracy theory.
Three years later, this conspiracy theory has been debunked. The World Health Organization (2020) determined that to date, and after much research performed, no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies. The Government of Canada (2022) advises that, based on the available scientific evidence, there are no health risks from exposure to the low levels of radiofrequency EMF which people are exposed to from cell phones, cell phone towers, antennas and 5G devices. The report goes on to say that after thousands of scientific studies were evaluated, only 2 adverse health effects that can occur at levels above the Canadian limits: tissue heating, such as the warming of your skin; and nerve stimulation, which can cause a tingling sensation in your skin. One study by Elzanaty et al. (2021) further denied the conspiracy claims by proving that not only are the claims not scientifically proven, but they are also biologically impossible. For example, while COVID spread worldwide, many cities hadn't even deployed 5G networks yet. Also, there is no proven interaction between radio frequency radiation (RFR) and DNA of the cells (Elzanaty et al., 2021). To further disprove the conspiracy theory, 5G radiations do not affect the immune system because the radiation level is below the heating thresholds, defined by the well-established guidelines (Tuschl et al., 2006 as cited by Elzanty et al., 2021).
This is just one example of the many theories of health misinformation that was being spread at the peak of COVID. Unfortunately, some individuals that believed the information shared proceeded to vandalize cell towers, pass on the information to others on social media, or have an affect on their mental wellness. As time passed, data was collected and scientific evidence was made available to debunk the misinformation being shared. Fortunately, we are able to now have access to fast wireless technologies with no significant health concerns.
References
Cockerell, I. (2021, November 19). Meet the celebrities pushing 5G coronavirus conspiracies to millions of fans. Coda Story. https://www.codastory.com/waronscience/celebrities-5g-conspiracies/
Elzanaty, A., Chiaraviglio, L., & Alouini, M.-S. (2021). 5G and EMF exposure: Misinformation, open questions, and potential solutions. Frontiers in Communications and Networks, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/frcmn.2021.635716
Global News. (2020, May 15). Coronavirus outbreak: Conspiracy theorists burn 5G towers, claiming link to covid-19. YouTube. https://youtu.be/bytUz7T3eHI?si=Icvl57pAPe_MKAbc
Government of Canada. (2022, October 20). 5G technology, cell phones, cell phone towers and antennas. Canada.ca. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-risks-safety/radiation/everyday-things-emit-radiation/cell-phones-towers.html#a3
Martin, A. (2020, May 9). Coronavirus: Why do people believe conspiracy theories - and can they ever be convinced not to?. Sky News. https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-why-do-people-believe-conspiracy-theories-and-can-they-ever-be-convinced-not-to-11985334
Moskowitz, J. M. (2019, October 17). We have no reason to believe 5G is safe. Scientific American Blog Network. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/we-have-no-reason-to-believe-5g-is-safe/
World Health Organization. (2020, February 27). Radiation: 5G Mobile Networks and Health. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-5g-mobile-networks-and-health
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