Celebs do harm by spreading outlandish theories
Disasters on a national and global scale are catnip to conspiracy theorists. Rational minds, however, can be counted on to step up to the mic and debunk the latest screed from the tinfoil hat crowd.
But no one ever accused Hollywood celebrities of being particularly rational. While some are behaving admirably by donating large sums to fund coronavirus research and get necessary medical equipment to first responders and food to the needy, others are using their influence to disperse a wacky and dangerous COVID-19 conspiracy.
This goes beyond harmless A-lister lifestyle drivel — spreading theories with no basis in fact during a global pandemic is idiotic and dangerous.
The dingus idea du jour is that 5G — the fifth generation of wireless communications tech that supports mobile networks — is somehow connected to the spread of the coronavirus. Scientists are still trying to find out the source of the virus, debating its genesis from “wet markets,” those that sell wildlife for slaughter, to bats. One thing researchers have been able to agree on, the coronavirus is a zoonotic spillover, that is, something that jumped from animals to humans. And viruses spread as viruses do — from airborne droplets produced by the coughs or sneezes of an infected person, which land on another person or a surface that is then touched.
But why listen to epidemiologists, virologists, researchers and other scientists when one has Woody Harrelson, former “Cheers” star. Harrelson recently posted a report “about the negative effects of 5G” and its supposed coronavirus link to his more than 2 million Instagram followers.
“I haven’t fully vetted it I find it very interesting,” he wrote of the report claiming that “5G radiation” is “exacerbating” the contagion’s spread and making it more lethal.
Rapper M.I.A. joined in on the anti-5G tirade: “I think it can confuse or slow the body down in healing process as body is learning to cope with new signals wavelength s frequency etc @ same time as Cov.”
“Last pandemic came with radio waves,” she wrote in another tweet. “Now 5G. The shift is not easy.”
On March 15, Singer Keri Hilson tweeted: “People have been trying to warn us about 5G for YEARS. Petitions, organizations, studies … what we’re going thru is the affects (sic) of radiation. 5G launched in CHINA. Nov 1, 2019. People dropped dead.”
This is part and parcel of fame’s delusion — that the spotlight somehow bestows wisdom. Clearly, it does not. But it does bring followers, and celebrities have, at the very least, an obligation to not recklessly fan the flames of preposterous notions.
Words can whip up a frenzy, and recently frightened U.K. citizens set 5G towers on fire — four in a 24-hour period.
YouTube and other social media platforms have taken some steps to stem the spread of misinformation around the coronavirus, banning content referencing fake cures and highlighting reliable information in searches and feeds.
This is a pandemic unlike any we’ve experienced. People are frightened, and perhaps some a bit more gullible at this time, desperate to exert some control over a situation in which they feel helpless. Celebrities are in a powerful position of influence, one they can use to make things better, or worse.