Fact Check-Footage shows 2019 Iraq protests, not 5G harm
Videos of protesters hit by tear gas in Iraq in 2019 are circulating online alongside false claims that the footage shows vaccinated people’s heads “exploding” following the activation of 5G mobile phone technology in Israel.
One clip shows a crowd of people panicking while gas surrounds the head of a man wearing a grey and red tracksuit. A second captures a man lying face down on the floor beside an Iraq flag. A third shows several people lying face up with blood on the ground.
The images have spread on several platforms alongside the false claim that 5G technology is causing the effects on those who have received COVID-19 vaccines (graphic imagery warning; here, here, here).
One user sharing the first clip wrote: “Israeli Protestor Starts Smoking From The Eyes And Screaming In Pain. Is this the graphene oxide being activated by 5G like at Astroworld?”
According to footage published in 2019 (youtu.be/tdV6CQdk3XA?t=31, youtu.be/tdV6CQdk3XA?t=101), the clips in fact depict the response to a demonstration against the government of former Iraq prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi in October and November 2019 (here).
Security forces hit protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas during the unrest (here) which resulted in at least 330 deaths (here).
At least two people died when tear gas canisters were launched directly at their heads (here).
The footage appears to be resurfacing as part of a conspiracy theory that 5G would cause health problems when it was “activated” or “switched on” on Jan. 5. This has not transpired.
Reuters previously addressed false claims relating to 5G (here, here, here).
Mobile phone technology such as 5G uses radio waves, the lowest-energy form of radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum (here).
According to the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which produced guidelines on 5G limits after seven years of research, radiofrequency electromagnetic fields transmitted and received by mobile phone technologies can cause an increase in temperature of exposed tissue (here).
However, ICNIRP restrictions mean the peak power used by 5G providers is required to remain “far lower than that required to adversely affect health”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said in 2020 that no research has linked exposure to wireless technology with negative health effects (here). Its website says it is conducting a “health risk assessment” of all radiofrequency ranges, including 5G, which will be available in 2022.
Reuters has reached out to ICNIRP for comment.
VERDICT
False. The footage shows protesters hit by tear gas during demonstrations in Iraq in 2019.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.
*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from Reuters India can be found here ***
