Misinformation Regarding 5G and COVID-19 and the Psychological Mechanism Behind Them

Abstract

In late 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread around the world (Fauci, Lane, & Redfield, 2020). Along with the virus, misinformation about the pandemic started to spread as well. Rumors regarding the usefulness of masks, conspiracy theories regarding the legitimacy and origin of the virus, and the astonishing amount of fake news about the virus posted online every day are extremely hard to distinguish from factual news reports (Mian & Khan, 2020; Brennan, Simon, Howard, & Nielson, 2020). One example of this alarming phenomenon is the conspiracy theory that links the pandemic to 5G, which is in the early stages of being commercialized (Shafi et al., 2017). This conspiracy theory claims that 5G and the radiation it causes disrupted the natural magnetic field of the earth, and started this pandemic (Geary, 2020). Though it might look like an absurd concept, the “5G causes Corona” conspiracy theory has gained an extremely large following, and the effect of that is clear on and off the internet, as multiple 5G antennas have been vandalized all over the world by mobs claiming they are the means of spreading the coronavirus (Reichert, 2020). The fabrication and spreading of misinformation regarding 5G and its link to the coronavirus are largely connected with the multiple psychological mechanisms and manipulation of sources.