There are lots of conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19 out there:
-
It’s a human-engineered biological weapon…
-
Disney released coronavirus so people would have to stay home and watch DisneyPlus…
-
COVID-19 was released by hand sanitizer companies to generate more revenue…
-
It was created by Netflix to tie into one of their new series…
-
Bill Gates intends to use a coronavirus vaccine to track and control the world’s population…
-
The military is using COVID-19 to hide a rescue operation of thousands of deformed “mole children” from sex traffickers in underground tunnels under medical tents in Central Park…
I swear all of these are actual conspiracy theories floating around on the internet. And there are plenty more. One of my favorites: “5G causes the coronavirus.”
The gist of the conspiracy goes something like this: The frequencies used by 5G is having adverse effects on human cells causing them to be poisoned. And our body’s natural defenses are pushing out this poison in the form of coronavirus.
Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “But, Luke, that doesn’t make sense.”
Well of course it doesn’t make sense. It’s batshit crazy. First of all, I’m not a doctor or biologist, but I’m 1,000% certain that’s not how viruses work. Viruses are not the body’s defense system forcing out the poison.
But moreover, the frequencies used by 5G networks have been used for decades. They’re used for fire-control radar, security scanners, short-range wireless networks, weapon systems, among other things.
In fact, the millimeter-length electromagnetic waves used by 5G were first investigated in the 1890s. So, if these frequencies caused coronavirus, it would have manifested itself much sooner. Yet this hasn’t stopped the theory from spreading.
Actor Woody Harrelson reposted a report on Instagram which claimed “5G radiation” is “exacerbating” the spread of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, John Cusack tweeted, “5 — G wil[sic] be proven to be very very bad for people’s health.” Cusack later deleted the tweet. But not before calling his followers who disagreed with him “just DUMB and fucking sheep.”
As a result of the theory, over 50 cell phone masts have been the target for arsonists in England. Over the Easter weekend, BBC reports:
The UK’s mobile networks have reported 20 cases of masts being targeted in suspected arson attacks over the Easter weekend, including damage to a mast providing mobile connectivity to Birmingham’s Nightingale Hospital. The posts have been shared on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram – including by verified accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers.
One thing I don’t understand, however, is why anyone spread the theory seriously. Who benefits from the story 5G caused coronavirus? Cui bono?
Are there investors who will lose money in the transition from 4G to 5G?
Is spreading the theory just a means of getting attention?
Is it an excuse for parents to refuse to buy their kids the latest $1,000 smartphone?
Or, perhaps, there’s doesn’t need to be any benefit?
Warning: If you’re a person who subscribes to a bunch of conspiracy theories, you might want to stop reading here. Because the rest of this may shatter your world view.
Our analysts have traveled the world over, dedicated to finding the best and most profitable investments in the global energy markets. All you have to do to join our Energy and Capital investment community is sign up for the daily newsletter below.
Why Do Conspiracy Theories Exist?
Conspiracy theories are psychological defense mechanisms. They’re subconsciously used by individuals to explain an unexplained problem. Typically that problem is between one very powerful group (like the government) and one which is powerless to control it (like the public).
Thing is, human beings aren’t particularly fond of uncertainty. So if there is some issue they can’t control, they’ll make up a story to explain why that issue can’t be controlled. Consider all of history when people made human sacrifices to the Gods to guard against unfavorable weather or illness. Something like the weather is uncontrollable. Making human sacrifices gave society a sense of control.
And that’s pretty much what’s happening with the 5G causes coronavirus theory. No one can control what’s happening around them right now. So people are making stories up to make themselves feel better.
Yet it seems some of these conspiracy theories are so outrageous, it’s difficult to imagine anyone buying them. But that’s a mark of a good conspiracy theory.
You see, the best conspiracy theories aren’t provable. That is if there’s no way to prove they’re wrong.
Can I prove the military isn’t rescuing thousands of deformed “mole children” from underground bunkers in Central Park?
No. But that’s why the conspiracy theory is able to spread.
In 1952, philosopher Bertrand Russell formulated an analogy to illustrate that the burden of proof should rely upon a person making outrageous claims. Called Russell’s Teapot today, the analogy goes like this:
-
There is a china teapot revolving around the sun in an elliptical orbit between Earth and Mars.
-
However, the teapot is too small to be seen even by the most powerful telescopes.
-
Since you can’t prove there is no China teapot revolving around the sun, it’s perfectly reasonable to consider the assertion as legitimate.
Russell specifically applied his analogy in the context of religion. However, I believe the fallacious thinking is also applied in the rationalization of many conspiracy theories.
Thing is, we can prove 5G doesn’t cause coronavirus. All you’d need to do is to put a 5G cell mast into a hermetically-sealed room with a bunch of human cells and wait to see if coronavirus appears. Unfortunately, no one has done that yet to my knowledge.
Don’t get me wrong, conspiracy theories are fun. They’re interesting and the best is entertaining. But that’s all. Rarely is there any truth to them.
5G is the future. And it’s much bigger than just faster movie downloads. Manufacturing, transportation, health care, defense, consumer electronics and appliances, agriculture, shipping and warehousing, education… all of these and more will see innovation from 5G.
International IT firm Teralink Solutions says, “The biggest impact of 5G connectivity won’t only affect the realm of smartphones. The internet of things (IoT) and Machine-to-machine (M2M) infrastructure, for instance, have long been held back by the limited latency and download speeds of 4G.”
Over the next several weeks, we plan to bring you more regarding how 5G will transform our lives and how to profit from the transition. For now, I urge you to check out Chris DeHaemer’s report on 5G investing here.
Until next time,
Luke Burgess
As an editor at Energy and Capital, Luke’s analysis and market research reach hundreds of thousands of investors every day. Luke is also a contributing editor of Angel Publishing’s Bull and Bust Report newsletter. There, he helps investors in leveraging the future supply-demand imbalance that he believes could be key to a cyclical upswing in the hard asset markets. For more on Luke, go to his editor’s page.
