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Coronavirus: Scientists brand 5G claims 'complete rubbish':
Conspiracy theories claiming 5G technology helps transmit coronavirus have been condemned by the scientific community.
Videos have been shared on social media showing mobile phone masts on fire in Birmingham and Merseyside - along with the claims.
The UK's mobile networks have reported 20 cases of masts being targeted in suspected arson attacks over the Easter weekend, including damage to a mast providing mobile connectivity to Birmingham's Nightingale Hospital.
The posts have been shared on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram - including by verified accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.
TV regulator Ofcom is assessing comments made by presenter Eamonn Holmes in which he cast doubts on media outlets for their attempts to debunk the claims.
But scientists say the idea of a connection between Covid-19 and 5G is "complete rubbish" and biologically impossible.
The conspiracy theories have been branded "the worst kind of fake news" by NHS England Medical Director Stephen Powis.
[...] Many of those sharing the post are pushing a conspiracy theory falsely claiming that 5G - which is used in mobile phone networks and relies on signals carried by radio waves - is somehow responsible for coronavirus.
Tough sledding for the engineers, but concerns about 5G have been raised prior to the coronavirus.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by ikanreed on Friday April 24 2020, @04:52PM (2 children)
No, that's not among the WHO's published health guidance. What your insane internet sources twisted that claim from: they produced a metaanalysis which found some extremely weak correlations in some studies between cell phone use and some kinds of brain cancer, but the overall trend of all data was a non-significant negative correlation between cell phone use and brain cancer.
The COSMOS, pan-European clinical research initiative spawned by those possibilities are still in their data analysis stage and plan to release their full results in 2021. Preliminary studies like the COSMOS study in the UK found nothing of the sort. However they did find a staggeringly large correlation between cell phone use and obesity.
So... knowing the internet, you're going to believe your insane internet sources even harder now.
(Score: 0, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 24 2020, @05:33PM (1 child)
>> the overall trend of all data was a non-significant negative correlation between cell phone use and brain cancer.
You're saying cell phones cure brain cancer some of the time? Why doesn't the WHO advocate strapping them to your head to wipe out brain cancer? Or are they just waiting for China to OK the policy for them.
(Score: 5, Funny) by ikanreed on Friday April 24 2020, @06:02PM
Yes, I'd like to take a strong stance.
Since correlation is not causation, we must take the lack of statistically significant correlation as irrefutable evidence of causation.