Explained: the coronavirus 5G conspiracy theory that has people setting fire to phone masts – Business Insider

• A bizarre new conspiracy theory links new 5G technology, which will increase mobile connectivity speeds, with the coronavirus outbreak.
• Proponents of the theory have set phone masts on fire and harassed telecoms engineers laying fiber-optic cables in the UK.
• The baseless theory has been circulating on social media since at least January but appears to have picked up steam during the first week of April.
• The UK government and telecoms industry have been forced to confront the conspiracy theory.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

A bizarre conspiracy linking 5G and coronavirus has taken hold in the UK and is being peddled by conspiracy theorists and celebrities on social media.

The theory runs roughly like this: the rollout of faster 5G internet is either causing or accelerating the spread of the coronavirus. It’s hard to pinpoint the source of the theory, and BI first heard a variant of the rumor in early March. As the pandemic continues, the conspiracy appears to have picked up steam.

The conspiracy theory and its various offshoots are baseless but have led to real-world harm, with over 70 arson attacks on phone masts around the country.

Here’s everything we know about how the conspiracy theory began to circulate:

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