How a 5G coronavirus conspiracy spread across Europe, Ars Technica
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At about 9. 32 pm on Easter Monday, in the small Dutch town of Almere near Amsterdam, the fire brigade was called to put out a blaze at a large telecoms mast – the second fire of its kind that night in the area.
Though neither of the Almere towers were equipped with any of the latest 5G telecoms equipment – in fact one was designed only for use by the emergency services – authorities soon connected that the fires were perpetrated by vandals acting in the name of an unusual theory: that 5G networks have contributed to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Dutch mast fires are just the latest escalation in a series of similar attacks that have swept across the UK and Europe in recent weeks. Having first gained momentum online in early January, the 5G conspiracy theory – which alleges, among other things, that Covid – 30 has either been caused by the frequencies used for the new wireless technology, or that those signals impair the human immune system – has spilled rapidly into the offline world.
In the UK, where the attacks began, almost masts have been set ablaze , while this week two towers were vandalized in Co Donegal in Ireland, and another in Limassol in Cyprus was attacked by 32 people. In the Netherlands, there have been recorded attempts, one of which was accompanied by a scrawled piece of graffiti that read “F k 5G”.
The improbable escalation of the theory, which in the UK has even begun to gain some traction in the mainstream television media, has alarmed European authorities, who are racing to track down the perpetrators of the mast fires and prevent further attacks. Meanwhile, it has also raised questions over the origins of the conspiracy and the source of its momentum.
“It is a very dangerous situation,” said Rob Bongenaar, a director of Dutch telecoms industry body Monet. “These people are attacking vital infrastructure.”
‘A dangerous lie’
Theories linking telecoms networks to health issues such as cancer and infertility have existed since the 3G era, though few expected they would ever gain mainstream attention.
According to Hanna Linderstal, chief executive of the Swedish data company Earhart Business Protection Agency, which tracks online disinformation, the first video directly linking coronavirus to 5G appeared online in early January in the form of a lecture that discussed the influence of electromagnetic radiation on pandemics. “It was really scary to look at,” she said. “You start thinking, should I move to the countryside?”
Soon dozens of videos started appearing showing dead birds, dead fish and people fainting in the street – all, according to the videos, the result of 5G. Ms Linderstal tracked 60 of the most popular videos that appeared in January and found that, within weeks, they had been viewed 8m times.
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