Who spread the ‘5G coronavirus’ conspiracy theory?
An absurd conspiracy theory alleging that Covid-19 was actually caused by 5G technology and orchestrated by Bill Gates spun out of control. We meet the man behind the madness.
In April, dozens of mobile phone towers were set on fire across Britain and demonstrators took to the streets to protest the rollout of 5G. They had the bizarre and entirely false idea that phone towers were somehow causing coronavirus.
Fake news and conspiracy theories were given a huge boost by the Covid-19 pandemic, and many of the whispers coalesced around politicians, scientists, and former Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates.
They weren’t true of course, so why did people believe them? We speak to protestors who were sucked into the rabbit hole - and question one of the key players responsible for spreading the myth.
Presenters: Mike Wendling and Marianna Spring
Photo caption: A mobile phone tower
Photo credit: Getty Images
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- Sat 4 Jul 2020 04:32GMTÂ鶹ԼÅÄ World Service except East and Southern Africa & South Asia
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