Expired 1991 patent misused in baseless claim about 5G ‘brainwashing’ | Fact check
The claim: Patent shows 5G cell towers are used for ‘brainwashing’
A Sept. 20 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows a woman speaking in front of an image of a cell phone tower. She describes a patent she claims proves 5G towers are used for “brainwashing” people.
“Those towers are everywhere,” she says. “They’re everywhere. And they just got us wrapped around their fingers. They can literally make you feel things they want you to feel.”
The video was shared more than 25,000 times in about two weeks.
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Our rating: False
The patent is not connected to 5G technology or cell phone towers. It dates to 1991 and expired in 2011. A spokesperson for an organization founded by the inventor who filed the patent said it was for audio technology that is used during meditation.
Patent is not related to 5G technology, cell phone towers
While the U.S. patent No. 5356368A cited in the video does exist, it has nothing to do with 5G technology or cell phone towers. The application for the patent was filed March 1, 1991, and it expired Oct. 18, 2011, long before the first 5G wireless networks were launched.
The inventor named on the patent is Robert Monroe, founder of the Monroe Institute, a nonprofit organization that calls itself “the world leader in human consciousness exploration.”
Paul Citarella, the institute’s executive vice president, said the Facebook video is a “prime example” of misinformation.
“There is absolutely no connection between the contents of the patent referenced in the Facebook post and 5G towers, or any other towers for that matter,” Citarella told USA TODAY. “This is just pure fabrication.”
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The patent describes specific techniques that involve superimposing certain frequencies “on some type of sound, such as music,” making it possible “to induce desired levels of sleep.”
“Please note that these signals are delivered through regular audio just like any other music you might listen to,” Citarella said. “They are not broadcast over the air in any manner.”
“5G” refers to the fifth generation of wireless communication technology that supports cellular data networks. It has been used as fodder for conspiracy theorists, but studies have shown it does not have harmful health effects, as USA TODAY previously reported.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
- Paul Citarella, Oct. 6, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Google Patents, accessed Oct. 6, Method of and apparatus for inducing desired states of consciousness
- USA TODAY, Aug. 27, 2019, 5G could change everything. Here’s what you need to know before you buy into the tech
- USA TODAY, Nov. 11, 2020, Fact check: No, 5G wireless networks aren’t dangerous
- Reuters, April 5, 2019, Who was first to launch 5G? Depends who you ask
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