UK: 5G & Coronavirus - Numerous Phone Masts Set On Fire

[Caplets]

السلام عليكم



Ministers have described theories linking 5G to coronavirus as "dangerous" after social media posts showing mobile phone masts on fire appeared to encourage such claims.

Fires at masts in Birmingham, Liverpool and Melling are being investigated.

Videos purportedly showing 5G towers on fire were posted online claiming a link between the mobile technology and Covid-19.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said it was "dangerous nonsense".



The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said on Twitter "there is absolutely no credible evidence" of a link between the two and added it was "aware of inaccurate information being shared online about 5G".

Trade body Mobile UK said false rumours and theories linking 5G and coronavirus were "concerning".

Merseyside Police said an investigation is under way after a telecommunications box was set on fire in Aigburth, south Liverpool on Friday.

A video of what appears to be the incident, which happened shortly after 22:00 BST, was shared on YouTube. However, it is unclear whether the box has anything to do with 5G technology.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service also said it is investigating a blaze it extinguished at a 5G mast tower in the village of Melling, north of Liverpool, on Friday night.

West Midlands Fire Service said the fire in Birmingham involved a 70ft tower on a telecommunications site. However, it said the cause was yet to be identified and it could not confirm the mast was 5G.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "We're aware of a fire involving a phone mast, but are awaiting further details on its cause."

At the government's daily coronavirus briefing earlier, Mr Gove said the theories were "just nonsense, dangerous nonsense as well."

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-52164358

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"...Burn baby burn - it's begun..."

Oliver Dowden plans to hold virtual meetings with representatives from several tech firms next week to discuss the matter.

It follows a number of 5G masts apparently being set on fire.

The issue will test the companies' commitments to free speech.

Earlier in the week, blazes were reported at masts in Birmingham, Liverpool and Melling in Merseyside.

A spokesman for Vodafone's mobile network told the BBC there had been a total of four further incidents over the past 24 hours at both its own sites and those shared with O2, but did not identify the locations.

"We have received several reports of criminal damage to phone masts and abuse of telecoms engineers apparently inspired by crackpot conspiracy theories circulating online," a spokeswoman for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport told the BBC.

[...]

Facebook said it had also removed a number of groups that were encouraging attacks on 5G masts.

However, a post entitled "burn baby burn - it's begun", which accompanied videos of telecoms equipment ablaze, was only taken down about six hours after it was flagged to the company's press office.

[...]

Vodafone has said the attacks are "now a matter of national security".
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52172570

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Anti-5G Fever Spreads to The Netherlands

Several 5G broadcasting masts across the Netherlands were damaged in what authorities have described as “a worrying development.” Similar acts of sabotage have previously been seen in the UK.

The Netherlands has experienced a string of arson attacks in the past fortnight, with the latest one happening on Friday in the northern city of Groningen, according to a report by newspaper De Telegraaf. The outlet cites Rob Bongelaar, director of the Monet Foundation, an industry group in charge of installing cellular broadcasting towers in the country.

Bongelaar believes that radical protesters opposing the roll-out of 5G technology were behind the attacks.

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https://www.rt.com/news/485561-russi...-daily-record/