Last week, while searching YouTube for 5G tutorial videos, I came across the search term “5G technology dangerous.” Curious as to what people are theorizing about this undeployed technology, I began watching. What I found makes little sense, but as we’ve seen, if people hear false statements frequently enough, they begin to believe what they’re told.

Conspiracy theories have been around for as long as anyone can remember. 5G is just a new one. People also claim the same conspiracies about Wi-Fi. So what are they saying? Well, two things: health issues and deliberate population control and reduction.

The claims start with 2.4-GHz Wi-Fi, which happens to use the same unlicensed band as microwave ovens used for cooking. One theorist claims that 2.4 GHz can make the water molecules in your body literally cook and that frequency was chosen to make us all sterile. Another claims that we should all pull our children out of schools that provide iPads for learning, claiming that the emissions will sterilize them.

Some conspiracy theorists claim that 5G is designed to reduce the number of people on the planet and control those who remain.

We’ve heard a lot about mmWaves being used for 5G, which range from roughly 24 GHz to perhaps 90 GHz. The conspiracy theorists claim that, because of the high frequencies and the fact that they have short ranges, we’re going to need small cells everywhere to get the coverage that people want. That, they claim, will lead to higher radiation levels and higher rates of cancer. Some claim that there will be no escaping these signals. I haven’t heard this yet, but I can imagine people claiming that houses painted with lead-based paint will be better for you than those without. You could also argue that there will then be a conspiracy by real estate brokers to claim that houses with lead paint are worth more than those without.

Next, the conspiracy theorists argue that 5G will lead to many more wireless devices everywhere — what we call IoT. The additional emissions from these devices will supposedly also increase health risks. What they don’t mention is that many IoT devices will transmit only for short periods and at low power levels.

Then there’s MIMO and beam steering. I don’t think the conspiracy theorists have grasped that yet, so let’s extrapolate what might happen. The small cells that will supposedly be everywhere will have phased-array antennas capable of concentrating their transmit power into small beams. Will that make things better or worse for your health? The conspiracy theorists will argue that you’d better not walk in the path of the beam or your brain cells will fry. They likely won’t say that these phased arrays will emit lower EM radiation levels in other directions. Today’s omnidirectional antennas send radiation in all directions, meaning you’ll get hit with radiation anyway. Beam steering won’t necessarily expose you to higher levels of EM radiation. Instead, it will lower power levels in areas where no signal is needed. The result: lower power consumption overall.

Some claim that 5G’s real purpose is as a weapon against the population used to monitor our every move, control our lives, and give us all cancer. You see, it’s all part of a fascist conspiracy to control us and depopulate the earth. Let’s face it: Businesses and governments have been known to lie about our health to protect profits. Think tobacco, oil, and many others. There may be some credibility to the argument that the long-term effects of all of those mmWave transmitters on our health is an unknown and may not be known until years after deployment. In the meantime, the conspiracy theorists will claim that information is already being hidden from us. As for the conspiracy to control us and reduce the population, I’m not ready to buy into that one.

Conspiracy theories come from both the extreme left and the extreme right. Indeed, some on the far left see it being used to create a fascist state and that the government will do anything that big business wants. At the same time, some on the far right claim that it’s a tool for the socialists.

As engineers, what do you say?

— Martin Rowe covers test and measurement for EE Times and EDN. Contact him at martin.rowe@aspencore.com