The conspiracy theory regarding 5G cell towers and COVID-19 states two ideas: that the rollout of 5G technology played a role in the spread of the virus and that Covid-19 has the ability to travel through radio waves. For the first aspect, proponents of this theory believe that the high-frequency radio waves emitted by 5G towers weaken the immune system, making people more susceptible to illness, including COVID-19.
As a computer scientist and technology fanatic, I can confirm that this conspiracy is false. Specifically, 5G technology uses higher frequency radio waves to transmit data, but these waves are not dangerous to human health. The radio waves used in 5G are non-ionizing, meaning they do not have enough energy to break chemical bonds or cause harm to human cells. However, I have never truly done research to refute my technological beliefs.
After spending an hour trying to find any sort of information supporting this conspiracy theory, I came to the conclusion that there are NO articles in support. This is because this conspiracy is so unbelievable that it did not gain much traction on the internet. However, I do find it quite interesting how this conspiracy spread like wildfire even though it is so unbelievable.
When trying to find information on how it spread, there is a common consensus that many people are ignorant. 5G Cellular- and technology in general- is a very hard concept for non-technical people to grasp. Therefore, people are easy to make/accept radical claims about these advanced topics that they know little about. Especially since this theory came out during the beginning of the pandemic, people grasped on to ANY theory that explained what was going on.