ABSTRACT:
There is infodemic of rumour, conspiracy and information spread about 5G technology as relates to the pandemic of Covid-19. The objective of this paper is to examine what account for this surge of information. The expectation is to provide insight into 5G cellular technologies and survey the scientific merits of the pervasive spread of the information. We employed the use of Google Fact Check Explorer tool to review 150 unique bits of misinformation captured within a period of three months as relates to 5G technology in the hit of the pandemic. Our data set was analyzed using simple percentage with Matlab 7.0 codes. It was observed that 78 percent of false information about 5G technology were Not True, claims to be true without any evidence ranged at 13 percent, while misinformation by taking information out of context was 9 percent. There is significant variation amongst the social media platforms interrogated, however Twitter remain top in false-rated content in our sample. Conspiracy theories also fueled the misinformation on deployment of 5G technology. Interestingly, with accelerated Internet speed, 5G will fast-track the mass adoption of technologies that rely on Internet connectivity, from connecting self-driving cars and drones to virtual reality, remote surgery and Internet of Things.
Keywords:
Cellular Network, Conspiracy Theory, Covid 19, Fact Checker, Infodemic, 5G.
