This article is courtesy of iAfrica

As people try to make sense of the world that they live in currently, often with limited information and understanding, conspiracy theories often arise. One such conspiracy theory that is making the rounds is that5G is the cause of thecoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The conspiracy that 5G is being used to spread COVID-19 has been widely shared by people in the USA and UK, it has been doing rounds on social media in many other African countries such as Nigeria and South Africa. There are even petitions asking some governments to stop the deployment of 5G networks in their countries.

Feeding this theory that 5G is used to spread COVID-19 infections is the fact that China is the clear leader as far as the deployment and development of 5G  is concerned. This relates to the origin of the disease in China, then spread across Europe and the USA. Africa has very low 5G installations, and the low penetration of the virus in Africa is the second evidence that 5G is the killer, according to the conspiracy theorists.

One of the conspiracy theory images that are going viral claiming to show a link between 5G technology and the spread of COVID-19. Source: Unknown.

Correlation vs Causation

So, is there a relationship (correlation) between the COVID-19 disease (map of countries it is mostly spread in) and 5G networks? As of today, yes.

Does 5G cause COVID-19, or accelerate its spread? No.

The argument that 5G causes COVID-19 is very weak, as correlation does not mean causation.

To use another analogy, it is possible to show that people with iPhones are more likely to contract COVID-19, or people who never travel are less likely to contract the disease. Is it that people with iPhones have a lower immunity?

Of course, no.

It is just that COVID-19 has hit harder in developed countries, where iPhones are more common. In the same way, people who do not travel much are not at risk because they have little contact with the virus, not that their immune system is superior.

Besides, people barely understand what 3G, 4G, 5G is in terms of their technical specificationsand how they work. What people know is that 3G is good, 4G is fast and 5G will be very fast. The details of how they work remain a black box to many.

In a real sense, the side effects of 5G are the same as those of 2G, 3G, 4G, or even WiFi. This means that if you think that 5G is about to cause the spread of COVID-19, you should start by destroying all your WiFI routers and smartphones, then moving to live in a jungle where any telecommunications signal does not reach.

When it comes to conspiracy theories, facts don't matter

Unfortunately, when it comes to conspiracy theories, scientific facts and logic do not always work.

As stated earlier, conspiracy theories are usually an attempt to make the world make more sense, based on people’s level of understanding and knowledge. This can sometimes be challenged with information.


In other cases, people believe in conspiracy theories because they want to be special or different. They do not want to believe what everyone believes and are looking for anything that makes them different and stand out. For such people, information or proof would not make them believe otherwise. Their belief in conspiracy theories is rooted in their identity and personality.

With this in mind, it is hard to dispel conspiracy theories or agree on the source. However, one thing we should all agree on is that we need to stay home as much as possible, keep a safe distance from people, wash hands often, cover up when coughing and call first instead of going physically to the hospital when symptoms show up.

Destroying 5G masts won't stop the spread of COVID-19. Coronavirus is caused by a biological virus, not a computer virus.

Empty post.

Western media has made everything non_western evil. We need to sit down and look at it logically. Nigeria has been struggling to fight BH for decade, US has never shown any genuine support, infact, at a time they're were technically supporting BH by blocking every opportunity to access weapons. Whereas, the same US has been building sophisticated millitary bases all over Africa with several billions of dollars even all over islands in Africa. In a continent struggling to provide as basic thing as clean water, road, edu, etc. In term of infrastructural development, US hasnt built anything tangible anywhere in Africa despite her big economy and influence. On the other hand, China is building projects across Africa from electricity to train to Airport, roads, scholarships to Africans, etc even with their own money. Let's say we can't pay and they take over them, who would still be using those infrastructure, Chinese? At least they brought them here, so if we can't pay back and they take over them these things would still be in use by Africans and improve quality of life, just like every private business. US/Trump that everyone is supporting call Africans all kinds to unprintable names, visa ban, reporting weak sides of African nations and continuously ridiculing everything we do. The list is long. China hasnt done any of these yet, western media still find their ways into the hearts of Africans to hate Chinese. Sadly, enough some fake pastors joined this brainwashed citizens. Look at China, how many times have they tumbled African govt? How many nations have China invaded in Africa? How many times has Chinese embassy criticize our local affairs? Etc New York started have underground train in 1809, that's 200yrs, they never extended such to Africa. China started booming just 20yrs ago and they've extended everything technology they have to us, that have improved our lives; From phones, train, Good Airport, Naval ship, Telecom, Roads, scholarships, etc Africans must sitdown and think. China is not your enemy.

All these experts are part of the problem.