YouTube said it will reduce videos on its platform that talk about conspiracy theories connecting 5G and coronavirus. This comes after around seven cellular towers in the UK were burned on the belief that 5G has something to do with Covid-19.
YouTube said it will remove these 5G and coronavirus conspiracy theories videos within 24 hours, The Guardian reported. The company will however keep videos that solely talk about 5G conspiracies unrelated to the virus. The UK government also plans to hold talks with social media platforms to help remove the conspiracy theories.
“We have also begun reducing recommendations of borderline content such as conspiracy theories related to 5G and coronavirus, that could misinform users in harmful ways,” a YouTube spokesperson told The Guardian.
These conspiracy theories claimed that coronavirus tests were conducted to spread the virus. And this pandemic is actually plotted to hide the deaths that were caused by 5G connectivity. To make it more convincing, these claims were made by a former UK mobile executive apparently, the report added. Although this particular video was taken down, there were multiple similar ones available on YouTube.
The 5G-coronavirus conspiracy videos were also spread by popular British celebrities like singer Anne-Marie. Amanda Holden who is a judge on Britain’s Got Talent even shared the link to an online petition which claimed that staying near 5G towers caused Covid-19 symptoms.
A total of seven cellular masts were burned down because of the conspiracy theories. Two of these belonged to Vodafone, while another two were towers it shared with O2. There were three more cellular towers which were burned.
