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A ROUND-UP OF THE LATEST NEWS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
CRACKPOT 5G THEORIES
IN ONE of the most bizarre stories of the pandemic – there are it seems people out there who think the spread of the coronavirus is linked to the 5G mobile phone network.
Stories linking the two have spread around social media, and culture secretary Oliver Dowden is planning to do something about it.
He wants to hold virtual meetings with the networks to tell them to remove any stories that make this entirely unfounded connection.
Facebook has already lowered the number of people WhatsApp users can bulk-forward messages on, to try to slow down the spread of such misinformation and it has removed some groups promoting the conspiracy theory from its main service. Google also removed a video of an interview with former TV presenter David Ike in which he talked about the theory entirely unchallenged.
Concern over the wild theory intensified over the weekend when, incredibly, some people took it upon themselves to attack mobile phone masts, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
“It beggars belief that some people should want to harm the very networks that are providing essential connectivity to the emergency services, the NHS, and rest of the country during this difficult lockdown period,” said Vodafone’s UK chief executive Nick Jeffery.
ROKU TV LAUNCHES IN THE UK
GOOD news for those who don’t already have enough TV to watch – Roku, the maker of some fine streaming hardware, has launched its own streaming service in the UK.
And it’s free to watch. The new service – the Roku Channel – has more than 10,000 films and TV episodes available, including Skins, Fifth Gear, The Wicker Man, right, and Get Carter. The channel – which is supported by ads – is available on Roku’s streaming devices, the Sky Q set-top box, and streaming sticks from NowTV. Find out more at roku.com/en-gb