Telecom engineers, considered essential workers in the UK, are facing harassment from anti-5G conspiracy mongers, linking the deployment of 5G to coronavirus

EE suspects telephone mast engulfed by fire in Birmingham was an arson attack as celebrities claim Covid-19 caused by new network

The Guardian 2020-04-05 Jim Waterson

Context & Ripple Effects

The harassment of UK telecom engineers is the human-cost layer of an escalation that began with the celebrity amplification of the 5G-Covid conspiracy in March and turned physical with mast arsons, including the Birmingham fire EE suspects was deliberate. Within days, the government convened meetings with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to curb the spread.

First-order effects

Frontline engineers — classified essential workers during lockdown — are absorbing direct abuse, with the Communication Workers Union later logging around 120 cases including murder threats.
Network operators like EE face immediate asset damage and repair costs, with the Birmingham mast fire treated as suspected arson rather than equipment failure.

Second-order effects

Platforms are being pulled into policing offline harm: Twitter moved to prioritize removing tweets inciting 'harmful activity' or 5G infrastructure destruction, a direct response to the arson wave.
The government's summits with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter set a precedent for state pressure on platform moderation when online speech maps to physical attacks on critical infrastructure.

Third-order effects

If the pattern holds, telecom rollout becomes hostage to misinformation dynamics — deployment crews need protection and operators need platform cooperation, entangling network builders with content-moderation politics.
The episode pushes platforms toward contestable gatekeeping: enforcement decisions once left to community standards now get negotiated directly with governments when viral claims trigger real-world damage.

The trend: Misinformation about critical infrastructure is collapsing the line between online speech and physical security, forcing governments and platforms into ad-hoc co-governance of what can be said about network rollouts.

Discussion

@jimwaterson Jim Waterson on x
Excl: Phone network EE says it believes a mobile phone mast in Birmingham was the subject of an arson attack, as mobile industry warns widespread 5G/Coronavirus conspiracy theories are resulting into attacks on their staff and equipment. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
This seems like a joke for the most contrived way to get a coronoavirus angle on a tech story. But it's not? https://twitter.com/...
@carnage4life Dare Obasanjo on x
People setting fire to 5G cell phone towers because they believe they spread #COVID19 thus damaging cell phone reception and making people less safe is the icing on the cake of the Octavia Butler novel we're currently living through. https://www.bbc.com/...
@ericgeller Eric Geller on x
This is great because I was just thinking, “There aren't enough things going wrong in the world right now.” https://twitter.com/...
@doctor_cupcakes Liam Robertson on x
Some people burned down phone signal towers in Birmingham because they thought they were spreading coronavirus. Really. https://www.bbc.co.uk/...
@jimwaterson Jim Waterson on x
There's burning on the streets of Liverpool, burning on the streets of Birmingham. And I wonder to myself, could the pillock dousing the mobile phone mast in in Belfast with petrol ever be sane again? https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@pickardje Jim Pickard on x
Stephen Powis, medical director for NHS England, says he's “disgusted” by “dangerous nonsense” online suggesting 5G phone masts are spreading coronavirus, calling it “the worst kind of fake news” (police are investigating recent phone mast fires) https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@carljackmiller Carl Miller on x
The most momentous event of our time is spawning a gargantuan, evolving, uber-comspiracy theory that's beginning to connect together: 5G, bio weapons, QAnon's deep state. Torched 5G masts is just the beginning, I could see this becoming a big problem https://www.bbc.com/...
@marcowenjones Marc Owen Jones on x
[Thread] 1/ I downloaded around 22,000 Twitter interactions between today and 1st April. I searched for anyone mentioning the terms “5g” AND “Corona”. I was interested after reading about the latest conspiracies that 5g is causing corona, or rather Corona is cover for 5g...
@alexhern Hern on x
This is genuinely one of the scariest stories around at the moment. The speed and ferocity with which this has grown is threatening lives now. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@drmatthewsweet Matthew Sweet on x
I wonder how me might explain the spread of dangerous conspiracy theories like this? https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jimwaterson Jim Waterson on x
Celebrities including Amanda Holden have promoted a fast-growing petition making baseless claims that Coronavirus is cover for deaths caused by 5G. Petition removed by Change dot org following questions from the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@alfonslopeztena Alfons Lpez Tena on x
Telecoms engineers are facing verbal and physical threats as baseless conspiracy theories link coronavirus to the roll-out of 5G technology — Mobile phone equipment is destroyed, including towers that maintain vital mobile phone and broadband networks https://www.theguardian.com/…
@naomirwolf Dr Naomi Wolf on x
@lovemachine6969 Interesting that this tweet from last year is being recirculated and re-presented with bots and trolls, right when policies are being passed on a federal level in some countries to ban 5G. According to UK telecoms' then-announcement, Belfast had not been in rollo…
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
EE says the fire at one of its cell towers in Birmingham was likely arson, and it wasn't even a 5G tower https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@aina_akin Tade Akin Aina on x
The conspiracy theory is everywhere. The new Luddites are transnational! They are using technology to spread anti tech conspiracy theories. https://twitter.com/...
@zhugeex Daniel Ahmad on x
It's genuinely insane how many people have told me they heard this from parents or family members. https://twitter.com/...
@glennf Glenn Fleishman on x
Should also note: • If 5G networking went live in June 2019, it would have been in active testing for months, if not longer • Dozens of studies have debunked the claim of electrosensitivity by using double-blind testing with controls & people who self-identify as sensitive. https…
@glennf Glenn Fleishman on x
Should also note that there is no credible basis on which to assert 5G (or any wireless networks) cause harm. Ongoing peer-reviewed research shows no effects and there's no biological basis for effects. I wrote about this: https://tidbits.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
I guess too many people must have watched #Kingsman and think what Richmond Valentine did to solve over population is actually possible but using #5G towers instead of SIM cards 🤦🏻‍♀ ️ maybe @SamuelLJackson can have a “leave 5G the F*** alone” as his next book https://twitter.com…
@mrjohnnicolson John Nicolson M.P. on x
Hard to believe this is the 21st Century sometimes....."Mast fire probe amid 5G coronavirus claims." #coronavirus https://www.bbc.co.uk/...
@mrsnickyclark Nicky Clark on x
So government are really busy but now have to make time for this? Seriously celebrities if you're not telling people to stay home and save lives, if you're peddling conspiracy theories, just STFU https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@thenewimpostor Dr Nuke on x
Celebrities, including Britain's Got Talent judge Amanda Holden and singer Anne-Marie, have spread the bizarre conspiracy theory that 5G masts spread coronavirus - leading to masts being set on fire in Merseyside, Birmingham and Belfast https://www.theguardian.com/ ...
@rooreynolds Roo Reynolds on x
Culture sec @OliverDowden summoning the tech platforms is akin to attempting to instruct ink and paper. To ‘hammer a message home’, probably better to talk to the minor celebrities who have been (deliberately or unwittingly) acting as bullshit amplifiers. https://www.theguardian.…
@mosecon_yan Yan St-Pierre on x
Not only on 5G theories. All conspiracy theories. Social media platforms must work to minimize impact & reach of these theories, as they act as catalyst for distrust & sometimes as a trigger for violence. Info mgmt is key part of risk mgmt, especially now https://www.theguardian.…
@leokelion Leo Kelion on x
Update: Vodafone says there have been a further four mobile phone mast incidents at its own sites and those shared with O2 over past 24hrs. https://www.bbc.co.uk/...

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