When COVID-19 unexpectedly hit, the world came to a grinding halt and billions of people were gripped by fear and uncertainty. From this came a truly mind-boggling conspiracy theory that tried to link the emergence and spread of the coronavirus to 5G towers and the “frequencies” at which this technology operates. So, how did this conspiracy theory really get started?

It all started on January 22 when a Belgian newspaper, Het Laatste Nieuws, published a sensational interview with General Practitioner, Kris Van Kerckhoven. The article was littered with Kerckhoven’s claims that 5G was dangerous and may be linked to the dreaded COVID-19. The article’s striking headline, “5G is life-threatening, and no one knows it,’ inevitably drew global attention. But it was the insinuation that 5G cell towers may have caused the infections in the city of Wuhan that set the wheels in motion for a new conspiracy theory to emerge.

Thanks to social media, the message quickly spread, and many people began believing that the global rollout of 5G was causing or accelerating the spread of COVID-19. Those on the bandwagon included many influential voices, from talk show hosts and vloggers to celebrities and anti-5G campaigners. In April, events took a dark turn when more than seventy 5G masts were set on fire in the UK in an attempt to eliminate the so-called virus causing technology.

The madness needed a rational voice, and this is when the expertise of scientists was summoned to explain why 5G could not possibly cause or accelerate the spread of COVID-19.

Myths and science collide

There are various myths that support the conspiracy. The first states that frequencies transmitted by 5G allows the virus to penetrate human skin and infect the host. This is impossible because frequencies transmitted by 5G, or any other network technology for that matter, is within a range known as non-ionising electromagnetic radiation. This range does not have enough energy to penetrate human tissue, making infection impossible. But, even if the frequencies were above this range, infection will still not occur as the virus cannot hijack radio signals since they exist in different forms that do not interact. In other words, the virus is biological while 5G is electromagnetic.

Even more outrageous is the belief that viruses use electromagnetic signals to communicate with each other and choose new hosts, resulting in the faster spread of the virus. But as mentioned, since their forms do not allow them to interact, this belief belongs in imagination land.

What 5G really is

Now that it’s proven that the network is not a sophisticated biological weapon, people can start appreciating the technology without fear.

5G is the 5th generation mobile network and is the new universal wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G networks. The technology enables it to deliver faster peak data speeds, close to non-existent latency, and a massive network capacity. A new chapter of connectivity will also be introduced as 5G is able to connect virtually with everything and everyone including devices, machines, and objects. This opens up the possibilities for new industries, smarter cities, and a world more integrated than ever before.

Although 5G had a tough introduction to the world, it is now part of our lives and here to make it better. In South Africa, various major operators have launched the new network and it is gradually gaining traction around the country.