The 5G con that could make you sick
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 June 2020
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Since the outbreak of coronavirus something strange has been happening – attacks on telephone masts and telecom workers are being reported all across the world. That’s because some people think that 5G can make you sick – from coronavirus to cancer and a whole host of other symptoms. Even more worryingly, some scientists say they can prove that it’s harmful. But at a time when many businesses are struggling, could this apparent threat be helping to fuel a whole industry of strange and expensive products? And worse, could stoking these fears actually be damaging people’s health? Assignment investigates how bad science could be making you sick.
Presenter: Tom Wright Producer: Chloe Hadjimatheou
(Image: A banner draped across a Place Royale statue during an anti-5G protest in Nantes, France. Credit: Estelle Ruiz/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Mid-May, on a path in Hyde Park, London, England. |
| 0:05.0 | And with a group of people, and we're on our way to a protest. |
| 0:08.0 | The problem is, we don't really know where we're going. |
| 0:11.0 | Oh, are you here for the march? |
| 0:12.0 | Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We, are you even much? Yeah, yeah, yeah. |
| 0:14.0 | Right. |
| 0:15.0 | We'll follow you. Well, I know about as much as you do, but I spoke to some guys a moment ago who told me that it was going to be down that way. |
| 0:22.0 | Down that way. Down that way. |
| 0:23.0 | Okay, fantastic. |
| 0:24.0 | This is the BBC World Service. |
| 0:26.0 | Welcome to assignment with me, Tom Wright, |
| 0:28.0 | investigating a misguided belief which could be causing real harm. |
| 0:32.0 | The protesters have gathered here in... belief which could be causing real harm. |
| 0:33.7 | The protesters have gathered here in central London for a lot of reasons, but the first one they |
| 0:38.0 | give me is 5G. |
| 0:40.3 | That's the advanced system for mobile internet being introduced across the globe. |
| 0:44.0 | They're worried it might be dangerous. |
| 0:46.0 | We're walking at a healthy distance from each other, and I'm pushing my bike. |
| 0:50.0 | So can you tell me a bit about what it is about 5G that you're concerned about? |
| 0:54.0 | It's actually very dangerous for our brains and causes cancer. |
| 1:00.0 | It sucks out oxygen from the atmosphere and it causes lots of health problems on a cellular level |
| 1:06.0 | also the radiation and all kinds of things. |
... |
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