I then tracked the diffusion of these stories on Facebook and identified 10 public groups where they were posted. Some stories I found had headlines like " 13 Reasons 5G Wireless Technology will be a Catastrophe for Humanity" and " Hundreds of Respected Scientists Sound Alarm about Health Effects as 5G Networks go Global". How it was used in parliamentary submissionsįor my research, I scoured the top posts circulated by these groups on Facebook for false claims about the health threats posed by 5G. Researchers at Rand have connected Zero Hedge with online influencers and other media sites known for advancing pro-Kremlin narratives, such as the claim that Ukraine, and not Russia, is to blame for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Most stories are geared toward an American audience. Zero Hedge, which is registered in Bulgaria, attracts millions of readers every month and ranks among the top 500 sites visited in the US. To connect sentiments like this to conspiracy groups, I looked at two well-known conspiracy sites that have been identified as promoting narratives consistent with Russian misinformation operations – the Center for Research on Globalization (CRG) and Zero Hedge.ĬRG is an organization founded and directed by Michel Chossudovsky, a former professor at the University of Ottawa and opinion writer for Russia Today.ĬRG has been flagged by NATO intelligence as part of wider efforts to undermine trust in "government and public institutions" in North America and Europe. One person argued she did not agree to allow 5G to be "delivered directly into" the home and "radiate" her family. A sizeable number, however, made claims about the health effects of 5G, parroting language from well-known conspiracy theory websites.Ī perceived lack of "consent" (for example, here, here and here) about the planned 5G roll-out featured prominently in these submissions. The majority of submissions were from private citizens. To better understand the nature and origins of the misinformation campaigns against 5G in Australia, I examined the 530 submissions posted online to the parliament's standing committee on communications and the arts. Last year, the FBI for the first time identified conspiracy theory-driven extremists as a terrorism threat.Ĭonspiracy theories that 5G causes autism, cancer and COVID-19 have also led to widespread arson attacks in the UK and Canada, along with verbal and physical attacks on employees of telecommunication companies. Misinformation can also lead to violence. Some protesters claimed 5G was causing COVID-19 and the pandemic was a hoax-a "plandemic"-perpetuated to enslave and subjugate the people to the state. In late May, for example, protests against 5G, vaccines and COVID-19 restrictions were held in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. If enough people act on the basis of these claims, it can cause harm to the wider public. While many Australians might dismiss these claims as fringe conspiracy theories, the reach of this misinformation matters. This is a remarkable situation for Australian public policy-it is not common for a parliamentary inquiry to have to rebut the dodgy scientific claims it receives in the form of public submissions. The report noted: "community confidence in 5G has been shaken by extensive misinformation preying on the fears of the public spread via the internet, and presented as facts, particularly through social media." These falsehoods were prominent enough the committee felt compelled to address the issue in its final report. A significant number of the submissions peddled inaccurate claims about the health effects of 5G. My recent analysis of more than 500 public submissions to a parliamentary committee on the launch of 5G in Australia shows just how pervasive misinformation campaigns have become at the highest levels of government.
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