New Delhi: Since Covid related fatalities and cases are increasing exponentially, an audio message is going viral on social media falsely claiming that the radiation being released by 5G testing has led to the outbreak of the second wave of coronavirus in India. In the conversation, one of the men can be heard claiming that 5G testing has caused multiple deaths in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharastra. He further alleged that due to the elections in West Bengal, the government did not start testing there but instead chose to initiate from Mumbai, Maharastra.

Meanwhile, Press Information Bureau (PIB) conducted a fact check and busted the fake news. “In an audio message, it is being claimed that 5g network is being tested in the states, due to which people are dying. This claim is fake. Please do not spread confusion by sharing such fake messages”, PIB said in a tweet.

Earlier, a similar post had gone viral on social media. The Hindi text in the viral message claimed that the radiation from the tower makes the air poisonous causing breathing problems among people. It further stated that “just like the previous generation of mobile networks (4G) killed birds, the 5G network will cause the death of animals and humans”. The fake post had asked people to raise their voice against setting up such towers.

Claim: 5G network is being tested in the states, due to which people are dying.
Fact: The claim is fake. There is no scientific backing for the same.

Earlier on Friday, the Telecom industry body, The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) expressed concern over rumours related to 5G technology with the spread of COVID-19.

COAI, whose members include Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, said it has come across multiple messages on social media platforms as well as reports in a few regional media mentioning 5G spectrum trials as the probable cause for rising COVID-19 cases.

“We would like to clarify that these rumours are absolutely false. We urge people not to fall for such baseless misinformation. Several countries in the world have already rolled out 5G networks, and people are using these services safely.

“Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has clarified that there is no correlation between 5G technology and COVID-19,” COAI Director General S P Kochhar said in a statement.