5G Conspiracy Theories Lead To Arson and Threats in U.K.

Social media users, including blue checkmark celebs, are circulating a baseless theory linking 5G networks to the coronavirus pandemic. Fact check: nope.

Not only is this dumb, it's dangerous. In recent days, arsonists set mobile phone masts ablaze in multiple U.K. cities. And other conspiracy theorists have physically threatened broadband engineers. This is the same wireless infrastructure that emergency services and health workers rely on.

The British government asked social media platforms to please help stop this misinformation from spreading. Worth noting: That's harder to do on messaging platforms that are end-to-end encrypted.

• YouTube said it will actively remove videos that breach its policies (i.e. content linking 5G and the virus). It will leave up conspiratorial content about 5G that isn't linked to COVID-19.

Bottom line: Now more than ever, we need to make sure networking infrastructure is reliable (obligatory COVID Traffic Report plug). And in locations where it's active, 5G improves bandwidth and speeds.