Jon Cusack The Latest Celebrity To Spread Nonsense About 5G

from the brain-worms-everywhere dept

Conspiracy theories have always plagued the deployment of new wireless technology. WiFi has no proven impact on human health, yet it has been a bogeyman for the better part of the last fifteen years. Fast forward to 2020, and social media is filled with "internet famous" folks claiming new fifth-generation (5G) wireless is part of a vast mind control conspiracy or a massive threat to human health. Russia, and likely other countries, have incorporated 5G for a few years into its online trolling operations, apparently believing it's another wedge issue that can be used to amplify already heated divisions in western countries.

During the coronavirus, the conspiracies surrounding 5G have exploded, with many "famous" Twitter users falsely linking 5G directly to the coronavirus. And in recent months, a lot of these bogus claims have been amplified by the likes of U.S. celebrities, who appear to be getting their health and science information from the "healing with crystals" set. Like Woody Harrelson, who last week vaguely suggested that 5G and the coronavirus are somehow linked. Or M.I.A., who in March doubted a COVID-19 link but falsely told her 650,000 followers 5G could slow down human healing:

I don't think it's related except for timing. The timing is orchestrated by them. Not Us. I don't think 5G gives you COVID19. I think it can confuse or slow the body down in healing process as body is learning to cope with new signals wavelength s frequency etc @ same time as Cov https://t.co/VDkE4oaxF5 — M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) March 24, 2020

This week, the honor belonged to John Cusack, who kept things vague in suggesting that 5G is just an ambiguous threat to human health:

While it would be hubris to suggest we have a full understanding of human health, the vast, overwhelming, scientific data to date suggests there is no health risk from 5G. If you want to read actual insight from an expert, I'd recommend this lengthy piece exploring wireless health concerns from Glenn Fleishman, who has been writing about and studying wireless networking for the better part of two decades. I'd generally trust him a bit more than an actor whose experience with wireless technology is largely of the fictional variety. Glenn's piece leans hard on numerous established studies, coming to this important conclusion on 5G:

"But the newness and differentness of 5G don’t matter. Whether we’re talking about 5G, 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi, or other consumer-level wireless technologies, the sum total of results from many studies and many years of research paints a straightforward picture—there’s nothing to worry about."

Of particular note in regards to 5G is that much of the millimeter wave spectrum being used for 5G (especially from the likes of Verizon) is millimeter wave, and has a hell of a time traveling very far or penetrating things like walls and human bodies:

"In particular, Wi-Fi and cellular networks, including 5G networks, use relatively high frequencies, which have short wavelengths. They don’t travel far and, the higher the frequency, the shorter the distance they can travel using the same power as lower frequencies. By deploying 5G densely, less power is needed, and by using high frequencies, it can’t penetrate far—whether through walls or into our bodies. Even though many more base stations will be deployed, they’ll be sending out far less power than today’s networking systems."

As Glenn also highlights on Twitter, the goopification of America and our distrust in establishment voices didn't happen in a vacuum:

The cellular industry shouldn’t be trusted (nor the U.S. or Chinese governments). But a huge body of evidence assembled independently around the world by academic researchers provides a basis to make a strong conclusion about safety. — Glenn Fleishman (@GlennF) April 7, 2020

Our susceptibility to bullshit is driven by a general, well-founded distrust in every last corner of the steadily eroded American establishment.

Folks are right not to trust the wireless industry, which engages in self-serving lying on pretty much a daily basis. They're right to not trust captured U.S. lawmakers and regulators from the FDA to the FCC. They're right to often distrust the courts, which have also been clearly hijacked in the service of myopic greed. And they're right to raise a skeptical eyebrow toward press outlets that, again more often than not, parrot press releases (this merger will be great! This surveillance technology has no downside!) in a way that uniformly winds up coming back to bite readers on the ass.

We've undermined any number of American institutions in a relentless quest for profit and power, so it shouldn't come as a surprise when the public now finds celebrities and internet randos a better source of authority and reason than our oldest institutions. If we want to fix the global disinformation problem, telling unqualified celebrities to shut up is a good start, but restoring the integrity of our institutions has to take priority.

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Filed Under: 5g, conspiracies, coronavirus, health, john cusack, safety