Ever since WHO has declared coronavirus to be a pandemic, multiple conspiracy theories have been circulating on the internet. While some say that it is man-made, others completely disregard the existence of such an illness. Many countries have also been accused of delivering the virus to other parts of the world and people are quoting movies like Contagion to show that the crisis was pre-planned.

Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have taken initiatives to ensure that any kind of false information about the virus does not become prevalent and so they are removing popular posts that convey incorrect theories.

This was not able to stop people in Britain who are burning down 5G post masts after a conspiracy theory stated that they are the main cause of the outbreak affecting thousands of Britons.

Source: Telecom

According to BBC, at least three 5G towers have been set on fire since the last week and police and fire departments are doing their best to keep the masses away from engaging in such crimes.

The Verge reported that Vodafone said that four cell towers have been burned by the locals in the past 24 hours and police have opened investigations to catch the people involved in the act. One tower in Birmingham that provides services for EE and does not even offer 5G has also been set on fire that shows how quickly the situation has escalated.

“Our engineers are assessing the cause of the fire at one of our towers in Birmingham. If it transpires that it was arson, which looks likely at this time, then we will work to help West Midlands police identify a culprit,” says an EE spokesperson. “This site served thousands of people in the Birmingham area, providing vital 2G, 3G, and 4G connectivity as it has done for many years. We will try to restore full coverage as quickly as possible, but the damage caused by the fire is significant.”

Source: The Sun

The false information has been linked with groups on Facebook and Nextdoor that repeatedly share conspiracy theories or misguide people about 5G towers being used to spread coronavirus.

According to other theories, the reason that corona originated in the city of Wuhan is that China started providing 5G services to the region. From there, it spread to other countries and the UK is affected because it also contains 5G towers.

However, logic says that coronavirus spreads rapidly in countries with a higher population and since Wuhan is the capital of the province, it naturally affected a lot of people quite quickly. Furthermore, countries like Japan and Iran do not even offer 5G services but the latter became one of the most affected countries in the world soon after China.

Source: Interesting Engineering

No medical or health research has proven anything even similar to the claims of the conspiracy theory. Even though 5G uses a higher frequency than 3G or 4G, the electromagnetic radiations fall way below the international guidelines assigned to each country’s service.

According to reports, essential workers who are making a living by installing more optic cables for faster internet service are being harassed by the locals for trying to “kill everyone” with 5G.

While medical and health facilities are fighting on the frontline against coronavirus, social media regulation authorities and other departments are fighting stupidity behind the scenes.