The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Burning Dundee phone mast and the 5G conspiracy theory groups
Jon Brady looks into growing concern over what increasing sections of the community see as the menace of fifth-generation mobile technology
At around 10.30pm on a Saturday in April, a fire started at the base of a phone mast in north-east Dundee.
A concerned resident in Whitfield called the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, which sent officers to the scene. They remained on site into the night as they waited for electrical engineers to arrive, having contained the blaze to the point it burned itself out.
Police were made aware of the incident, but did not investigate. It is understood the fire was deemed an accident.
Despite this, a small online community of conspiracy theorists celebrated. Accident or not, a blow had been struck against what they saw as an encroaching threat on their way of life – the menace of fifth-generation mobile technology, or 5G.
In a group on Facebook entitled “Dundee STOP 5G & SMART METERS”, one man called the fire “great news”. Another suggested a wayward spark “might set fire to another one”.
“Let’s hope (others) get the same treatment,” noted another local woman who shared the post.
The fire damaged equipment at the base of the mast, disrupting the signal well into May. It may have also caused problems for local emergency services, which depend on Vodafone’s network infrastructure.
The mast did not even carry 5G. The Dundee 5G group on Facebook is one of a number convinced the government and media are lying to them about new technology, to the extent some believe it is responsible for creating, or spreading, coronavirus.
Since lockdown began in March approximately 90 UK masts have been set on fire, while engineers working on masts have been confronted, abused, spat on or even stabbed.
Spurred on by disturbing graphics, slickly edited videos and pseudoscientific explanations, a minority of locals are increasingly convinced scientists, experts and fact-checkers are lying to them and disseminate these theories among friends.
Deb Brown, a moderator on the Dundee STOP 5G & SMART METERS group, came to the conclusion
5G would be the cause of a “mass genocide” after poring over pages and pages of unverified and false information on social media. She believed billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates – a frequent scapegoat of conspiracy theorists – was behind the plot.
The 56-year-old, from the West End of the city, says: “I’m not a gullible person, but when something sits right your instinct knows. You can’t just push this aside as nonsense.
“The number of top senior staff and doctors and nurses saying what is being promoted in mainstream media is wrong... it’s worldwide. It’s so obviously propaganda.
“Bill Gates, these people, are all bought and paid for, part and parcel of a conspiracy. But it’s not a conspiracy, it’s an agenda.”
Asked if she believes 5G is responsible for the virus, she responded: “I believe what I have read. This covid, I’m not saying I don’t believe there’s a nasty virus but I do believe that they’re manipulating the figures.”
A former campaigner for Scottish independence, Ms Brown says she no longer consumes mainstream media because “any organisation can lie through its teeth”.
She also rejects the idea that anti-5G groups are encouraging people to set fire to phone masts. However, the fact remains that people in these groups call for towers to be taken down, using vigilante methods if necessary.
She adds: “I don’t get involved in that, because I don’t want to encourage actions of violence.
“I’m a pacifist. I’m out to try and help and educate people. That (setting fire to a mast) is an act of violence as far as I’m concerned. I don’t think the towers should be there but I would never encourage somebody to deliberately set fire to something.”
In response to a request for comment on this article, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman said: “We’re concerned about the conspiracy theories being spread online and the damage they could cause to public health.
“At a time like this, when the world is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis, it’s distressing that there are people spreading misinformation when we should all be looking for ways to collaborate and save lives.
“Right now, one of the best things we can do to stop the spread of Covid-19 is spread the facts.”
Social media giants have been criticised by the government for failing to take what they see as decisive action over the spread of misinformation.
A Facebook company spokesman said: “We are continuously working to stop harmful misinformation spreading on our platforms.
“The WHO are providing clear guidance on Covid-19 misinformation that could lead to real-world harm which we’re removing, and we are pointing people to the latest official NHS guidance directly from our platforms so people have accurate information.”
How it works
Like all other wireless technologies, from FM radio to home wi-fi, 5G relies on radio signals for broadcast. It is using higher frequencies than previously employed for mobile communications but the resounding agreement among technology experts, scientists and health bodies is that it is safe.
5G differs from previous generations of mobile technology in that its applications go beyond simply giving mobile phones faster internet or more ways to connect.
It will support many more devices in a single area than 4G and offer speeds as fast as 20 gigabits per second with minimum “latency”, the delay between data being requested and transmitted.
These pave the way for “the Internet of Things” – always-on networks of devices that can “talk” to each other and share data.
More antennae are needed in more locations and this, along with its expanded role in life, may be where some conspiracies take root.
But science tells us 5G waves sit in the same category of radiation as existing phone, TV, radio and wi-fi signals. They are all types of “nonionising radiation”, emanating at a frequency too weak to damage or modify living tissue.
Mobile UK, a lobbying body representing the country’s four major mobile networks, says the theories around 5G are “baseless”.
It added: “Research into the safety of radio signals including 5G, which has been conducted for more than 50 years, has led to the establishment of human exposure standards including safety factors that protect against all established health risks.”