This doesn’t stop does it? Sadly the internet, as we’ve mentioned before, perpetuates lies which – even when they are fact checked and dismissed – continue to be believed by many. The continual dopamine-driven hits make us live in a virtual echo-chamber and we can easily mute or block those who have a different opinion. It means that misinformation and mistruth grows and, no matter what the reality is, some want to continue living in a fantasy land.
This weekend BT Boss Philip Jansen has revealed that eleven BT / EE masts have been destroyed or damaged by fire. There’s now 33 across all UK operators that are out of action and most are not the 5G masts that conspiracy theories blame for the coronavirus.
The World Health Organization is taking time out to warn people against the utterly stupid belief that radio waves could “target” or “cause” a virus…
FACT: #5G mobile networks DO NOT spread #COVID19
More: https://t.co/TdKoGmWrIr#coronavirus #KnowTheFacts pic.twitter.com/c56tToalZF
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 9, 2020
Mindless idiots are crippling certain areas of the UK as more people work remotely and attempt to keep in touch with vulnerable friends and relatives during the UK lockdown.
Meanwhile BT are stating that engineers are coming under attack, and social media sites – low on staff due to the COVID-19 outbreak – are struggling to remove abusive / garbage material from stupid people who continually push the “5G causes COVID-19” message as some sort of an excuse for being a total bellend.
Yes, bellend. I said that. People who create or believe false rumours without doing proper fact checking from trusted sources, and then use that as an excuse for bullying and abusing engineers or destroying critical infrastructure …. are .. bellends. End of.
BT CEO, Philip Jansen, stated..
Our focus at BT has been on standing by the country – connecting the new Nightingale Hospitals, helping isolated patients speak with their loved ones, making sure our networks perform to keep everyone working and entertained, offering help to vulnerable customers and support to small businesses that face the challenge of a generation.
Yet as I write this, 39 engineers have been verbally or physically assaulted – including threats to kill. These are Government-designated key workers, out – with no small risk to their own health – to ensure that broadband and mobile networks keep working. Without these engineers fixing faults, adding capacity, and installing new lines, people lose their connection.
Now, more than ever, that connection is vital. Whether that’s for home-schooling, working from home, or ordering food online, losing that connection is unthinkable to millions.
As I mentioned before, 5G does not cause coronavirus. Countries without 5G have been affected and you’re getting higher frequencies from your WiFi router.
The “theories” sent by the idiotic and rambling Facebook or YouTube posts continually shift and contradict themselves. Some go as far to say that the coronavirus is “made up”. Mr Jansen also talks about one of the most bizarre theories, which states that the applause given to the NHS each Thursday is, in fact,
..to create enough noise to mask the ‘loud beeping’ of 5G networks being tested.
Some of these theories have been written as a joke, some because they’ve been fooled into believing something, others for the kicks. It’s all rubbish, but now BT engineers are seeing telegraph poles getting wrapped in barbed wire. The poles carry fixed phone lines, they’re nothing to do with mobile. Science, logic and reason doesn’t work and – while there’s a tribe online spinning continual lies – there’s people who will believe.
Now, in 2020. “Evidence” on YouTube, Facebook or WhatsApp seems, for many, to carry the same weight and importance as research-based papers in scientific journals. It’s a strange world where the truth is re-written daily.