After posts on social media began to link Coronavirus with 5G mobile phone networks being rolled out, masts in northern England were set fire to. Masts belonging to Vodaphone were destroyed, and telecom workers in one city were attacked by locals.
In response to the attacks Youtube has said they will remove any videos that claim 5G causes Coronavirus, or is in anyway linked to the pandemic. Medical experts have said that such theories are absolute nonsense.
Celebrities were among those spreading the conspiracy theories to their thousands of followers, with Woody Harrelson from the TV series Cheers sharing on Twitter:
“I haven’t fully vetted it I find it very interesting,” he wrote of the report claiming that “5G radiation” is “exacerbating” the contagion’s spread and making it more lethal.
Youtube told the media:
“clear policies that prohibit videos promoting medically unsubstantiated methods to prevent the coronavirus in place of seeking medical treatment,” adding that it had started “reducing recommendations of borderline content such as conspiracy theories related to 5G and coronavirus, that could misinform users in harmful ways.”
Read More: NBC News