
5G does not cause coronavirus - ericzawo
https://www.bbc.com/news/52168096
======
vezycash
3 weeks ago, I had a long argument with friend of mine, a chemical engineering
grad who believes this 5g crap and at the same time believes Corona virus
isn't real.

I wasn't worried cos he has barely noticeable drug-caused mental issues. And
he's drawn to occult, UFO, 666 conspiracy groups on Facebook and telegram.

However, my old man who's more distrustful of rumors than I am is active on
both WhatsApp and Facebook and is begining to believe this 5g nonsense as well
- latching on to the intentionally misleading fact that viruses aren't "living
things." I didn't bother arguing my stubborn old man and just asked him if
ebola, HIV and SARS are man made as well. Then he retorted that Trump's
accusing China of making the virus in a lab.

A Nigerian senator and a Nigerian pastor with his own TV channel and millions
of 'sheep' worldwide both published videos a few days ago, spreading the 5g
virus further and the dumb govt quickly released 5g distancing statements.

I hope whoever started the joke is happy with themselves.

~~~
saaaaaam
It may be that RT started the joke:

[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/12/science/5g-phone-
safety-h...](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/12/science/5g-phone-safety-
health-russia.html)

------
kasperni
Here is an actual screenshot from someone's Facebook page spewing out this
garbage. [https://ibb.co/cx62sbD](https://ibb.co/cx62sbD)

~~~
uyuioi
Lol. That’s pure garbage in text form.

------
smileypete
Reminds me of the advance fee frauds that people fall for, or compulsive
gambling.

Once people really believe that first conspiracy theory and then a few others,
they get totally emotionally invested. After that they can't easily deny
anything or the whole chain of belief would start to unravel.

The conspiracy theorists might be better off just studying science from high
school level upward, but this doesn't provide the easy return that they're
looking for.

This doesn't mean that governments are always right or honest, eg the WHO and
some government's position on not wearing masks to help stop the spread of
Covid is downright illogical, negligent at best and criminal at worst:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNkjJHliMZo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNkjJHliMZo)

Of course this adds to a loss of trust in such bodies and in turn can even
make conspiracy theories seem more plausible.

~~~
nextweek2
> help stop the spread of Covid is downright illogical

You are thinking from an individual point of view, governments and WHO are
thinking of society, not you as an individual.

From a society point of view, saying masks don't stop the spread is completely
logical. If WHO said "People should wear masks" there would be a world wide
shortage overnight. Even for hospitals, care homes and other health workers.
That would be a very bad outcome.

The current best use of masks is in environments of higher risk, not them
being stockpiled in people's homes. You might be sensible and only buy what
you need but will others?

> This doesn't mean that governments are always right or honest You are
> judging things only from your perspective, what is right for you and what is
> right for the masses are not always the same thing. Governments the world
> over have said they are following scientific advice. That advice is also
> going to be about hard decisions on who gets saved and who doesn't. That's a
> hard job for anybody as there is no right, only less wrong.

------
JohnJamesRambo
It’s dystopian that this even has to be said. A child with a second grade
level of understanding of science would know this.

~~~
badrabbit
Not really, a child would also believe a confident person who claims to know
more about the subject and throws in legitimate facts to enable their silly
conspiracy. We all believed when they told us you couldn't subtract a number
from 0 at a similar young age (until we learned about negative numbers)

------
LaundroMat
It's a rhetorical question, but why do media spend time on this? By giving it
attention, they are legitimising it and actively helping the spread of
blatantly false information.

~~~
saaaaaam
Because there’s an audience for it to whom they can monetise through
advertising, and because most media are simply entertainment masquerading as
information. Much of what people consume is a million miles away from being
rigorous fact/evidence-based media.

------
thefounder
Stuff like this really makes me question many assumptions about the world and
our political system/democracy.

