Everything you need to know about 5G conspiracy theories

They stem from the same folks that gave us groovy hits like "Vaccines cause Autism" and "Power lines are a global health threat" and you're too smart to fall for it this time.

Have you ever read something on the internet about 5G and haphazardly ventured too close to the comments? Chances are, you quickly saw well-meaning people trying to warn the rest of us that 5G causes harm to our bodies and that there's a big cover-up by telecommunications providers, the general science community, and the media. While those sorts of comments might be well-meaning — I will assume the folks posting them only want to make sure we know how bad this 5G thing really is — they are completely unfounded. More than that, they are being perpetuated by discredited scientists and a media outlet that was found to purposely spread disinformation in order to "destabilize the west".

That's not very helpful after all. But don't blame the messengers, blame the source.

We're being spoon-fed a pile of nonsense under the guise of public safety. Don't fall for it.

Whenever I see a thing on the internet I know I'll want to read but don't have time, I bookmark it in my extra special folder filled with news pieces, funny anecdotes, and 100% legit working 2019 Rainbow 6 Seige hacks. Last weekend, I had time to look through some of the things I've saved and read an article in the New York Times from March that would be the basis for a good political thriller. It laid out all the dirt on how RT America has been spreading nonsense as if it were worthy and factual information in regard to 5G.

Because I'm skeptical at heart and never trust any single source, I followed a lot of the links in the article and watched several of the RT America videos they profiled, and ho-lee-shit. It explains a lot of the tripe I'm seeing posted any time I read an article about 5G in the U.S. I'm not sure of the reason why this misinformation campaign is in place (the Times piece says it's to ensure the U.S. has no dominance in 5G tech) but I can see why a generally unscientific American populace sees or hears it and begins to worry. And why some of us feel the need to warn the rest of us.

I'll be blunt before I continue: according to experts in the scientific and medical community, as well as the World Health Organization, 5G isn't going to be a serious threat to our health. These are the types of people and organizations that have decided that we should pasteurize our milk and stop spraying DDT at mosquitos. I trust them and think you should, too.

On the other hand, we have experts who have been discredited by the scientific community and others who unsuccessfully sued their neighbor because her iPhone and Wi-Fi router were dangerous. These are the types of experts RT America is courting for segments like "5G is a Crime Under International Law" and "A Dangerous Experiment on Humanity" — videos with a lot more views than truth.

I don't need to be sure of the reasons behind it to see right through it. You should follow the links and see it with your own eyes, too.

RT America has a sullied past. I'm not about to dive into politics here, but leaders on both sides of the fence are certain enough that the network doesn't have our best interests at heart. Unfortunately, that message isn't in any video pre-rolls so I'm going to assume that most people seeing these types of videos don't know it. What they do see is a slick professional-looking news story stating that 5G is going to hurt our kids and the evil people in charge of everything don't want you to know about it. Naturally, viewers get concerned. I know I would be equally concerned if I weren't familiar with the subject matter.

Long story short — cut the commentators telling us how bad 5G is for our health a little slack. They probably have the best intentions and have been sucked into something bigger than any of us. You or I might get sucked in the next time. Studies do show a correlation between cancer in rats and cellular radiation, but the study used defunct wavelengths and compressed a lifetime worth of radiation into daily doses. Dr. Marvin C. Ziskin, Professor of Radiology and Medical Physics at Temple University Medical School, Director of the Temple University Center for Biomedical Physics, and Co-Chairman of the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety says "5G emissions, if anything, should be safer than previous generations".

I'll trust the 2011 d'Arsonval Award-winning doctor more than a YouTube news outlet with an agenda to push.