False claims that 5G telecommunications technology causes a host of serious illnesses are "very likely" being amplified by the Kremlin's media network and being repeated by Australians, according to new analysis.

Russia's broadcaster RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and other alternative media websites are likely behind the uptick in 5G phobia in Australia, says Bret Schafer, a disinformation and media fellow at the US-based Alliance for Securing Democracy, a pro-democracy group funded by non-government sources.

“It is very likely that RT-promoted narratives are seeping into the Australian information environment via social channels,” said Schafer.

RT is a Kremlin-sponsored global media network that promotes an anti-Western worldview, sometimes with the help of disinformation.

This rise in 5G fears, including the notion that the technology causes cancer, comes as anti-5G activists increasingly gather in real life to dispute the science. In July Australians, directed by a Facebook page, gathered for a "Community Forum Exploring the Hidden Dangers of 5G Radiation" in Sydney, according to a tech industry report.