Svetlana Alexievich, the Belarussian winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature, has suggested that there might be a link between wireless 5G technology and the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
Though no evidence exists to suggest a link between 5G and Covid-19, Alexievich told the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Belarussian service that “scientists aren’t fully certain,” unleashing a firestorm of disappointment among social media users.
“We still need to fully understand whether this is the flu or whether 5G is already affecting the human immune system,” Alexievich said in the interview last week.
The widely spread 5G conspiracy theory has led to a series of arson attacks on telecom towers and other infrastructure across Europe, including in Britain, Ireland, Cyprus and the Netherlands in recent weeks.
The World Health Organization maintains that coronavirus cannot spread through radiowaves or 5G mobile networks.
Russian and other state-backed trolls now appear to have hijacked what was an “organic” 5G conspiracy theory, Business Insider reported Thursday, quoting an unnamed Dutch intelligence official who has been tasked with helping prevent 5G attacks.
“We have also seen a great expansion into pushing this narrative by social media troublemakers and bot networks controlled by state actors such as Russia, Iran and others,” the official was quoted as saying.
Belarus had reported more than 4,200 coronavirus cases and 40 deaths as of Thursday. The virus has infected 2.1 million and killed 145,705 people worldwide, including in countries without 5G coverage.