Recent New York Times reporting uncovered Russian propaganda against new 5G technology. Center director Jeffrey Cole describes why this is a high-stakes new front in a disinformation war.
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By Jeffrey Cole
In a recent column, I wrote about why 5G is a really big deal. This new mobile technology is more than a faster 4G: it enables autonomous vehicles and tele-medicine, eliminates any limitations of wireless, may well be a cable TV killer, and will lead the next phase of the digital revolution.
Verizon has already rolled out 5G in Chicago and Minneapolis. They and the other carriers will soon roll it out across the country. Soon phones and other devices will be 5G ready.
It is a game-changing technology, and it’s well on the way.
Now 5G is in grave peril. The danger comes not from technology or its impact; it comes from deliberate misinformation and fake news.
The New York Times recently reported that RT America, the Russian-owned news service that appears on American (and other countries’) cable systems in English, is reporting that 5G may produce fatal radiation. The channel, a propaganda arm of the Russian government, is producing fake news about fake science that links 5G to brain cancer, infertility, Alzheimer’s, autism, and heart tumors.
This is terrifying on so many levels.
At the same time RT is reporting in the U.S. on the severe dangers of 5G, Russia itself, with the support of President Putin, is rolling out its own 5G system. Russia is using RT with the clear goal of creating mistrust and doubt in the emerging growth of a vital new technology. It is an open act of political warfare and must be treated as such.
Sadly, this is now a well-known tool out of the Russian playbook.
Why Russia wants the U.S. to be afraid of 5G
Political scientists have made the compelling case that Russia is acting as a far more important geo-political actor than it really is. With a declining population and economic base, Russia is little more than a regional power, although one with global ambitions.
The current Russian leadership came of age in the Soviet Era, when Russia was a global superpower. Those days are long gone, but both the memory and the ambition remain.
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Just as disinformation in the 2016 political campaign ignited massive tribalism in our country, and as the anti-vaccination movement has put millions of people’s health at risk, so too does the campaign against 5G endanger our progress and endangers lives.
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Russia compensates for its lack of real political power by using disinformation (particularly digitally) to exploit weaknesses in open societies. Putin’s goal is to weaken democracy — not through direct confrontation, but rather by causing internal division, lack of faith in social and political institutions, and by spreading lies and false information. This multifaceted campaign throws doubt on science and facts. It causes citizens to distrust news media, political leaders, common sense and each other.
5G is an essential technology that will move the digital revolution into the next phase. Those countries that move quickly into 5G will gain an important advantage over those that lag behind.
Even with Putin’s support, Russia is clearly, at best, in the second ranks of 5G development, far behind the U.S., China and South Korea.
The easiest way for Russia to level the playing field with 5G is to cripple its deployment outside Russia. That is where RT comes in. Their report detailing the massive dangers of the effects of 5G technology was titled, “A Dangerous Experiment on Humanity.” Not even trying to be subtle or consider scientific evidence, RT — looking at 5G concerns — reported, “There is just a small one. It might kill you.”
It’s easy to see what is happening here. Through its disinformation tool, RT, Russia is trying to make Americans terrified of 5G. Using absolutely no science (because there is none), RT is stirring mistrust of facts, progress, and technology. It is part of the coming war against technology.
Since the introduction of mobile phones, there have been rumors that they both interfere with airline navigation and, if held to your ear, can cause brain cancer. After many years, the airlines have largely caved on the use of cell phones on the plane because there were no negative incidents. (Though still banned in flight, airlines know at least 20% of passengers have their cell phones on—and not in airplane mode.)
The fear of cell phone radiation to the brain has largely receded as an issue, although—as with any conspiracy theory—there are a few holdouts. Cell phones have been around long enough that, after 30 years, if they did cause brain cancer we would see an enormous spike in cases. We haven’t.
The Russians are building on this fear, claiming that the increased frequency of 5G raises the danger to an entirely new level. After several pieces appeared on RT, dozens of unrelated blogs from Americans have picked up these fake reports and distributed them, another key element from the disinformation playbook. In other words, the Russians may have started the misinformation campaign about 5G, but it is American websites that do much of the damage.
Beyond making Americans afraid, Russia’s goal is to stifle the development of an important technology. Concerned citizens could use lawsuits and complaints to lawmakers to get injunctions and endless delays in 5G deployment. So much fear and unscientific misinformation will enter into the public discussion that it will be impossible for “real” facts (this should be redundant) to enter the debate.
Parents, unable to decide what is true and what is not, may lean on the side of caution in order to protect their children, opposing the deployment of 5G towers and services and also boycotting stores that sell 5G devices. The rollout of 5G could be delayed a generation as other nations pass us by and move forward with remote surgery and driverless cars, both of which can save hundreds of thousands of lives.
5G’s conspiracy theory ancestor: anti-vaxxers
Although this scenario may feel like far-fetched fiction, you only have to look at the anti-vaccination movement and its recent consequences to see how this 5G disinformation campaign may play out.
The belief that certain vaccinations can lead to autism first appeared in an article co-authored by Andrew Wakefield in 1995 in the British medical journal The Lancet. Subsequently, the article has been thoroughly discredited and withdrawn. Wakefield was prohibited from practicing medicine in his native U.K.
The Lancet article appeared just as the internet was gaining momentum. It spread quickly around the world. Most people were unable to judge the scientific merits of the article or the case opposing it. They just knew that someone apparently reputable claimed that vaccinations could cause autism. This was justification for parents to “protect their children.”
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Dozens of unrelated blogs from Americans have picked up fake reports and distributed them, another key element from the disinformation playbook. In other words, the Russians may have started the misinformation campaign about 5G, but it is American websites that do much of the damage.
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The internet accelerated conspiracy theories that the scientific community was hiding something, that the vaccinators were in bed with pharmaceutical companies, and that the government was doing nothing. A massive disinformation campaign, impossible before digital technology, led directly to deaths through measles and other preventable diseases.
The plan to create fear and opposition to 5G should be seen as part of the disinformation playbook. The process is so familiar that it should be easily recognizable. Unfortunately, there is no one who can speak authoritatively for truth.
Just as disinformation in the 2016 political campaign ignited massive tribalism in our country, and as the anti-vaccination movement has put millions of people’s health at risk, so too does the campaign against 5G endanger our progress and endangers lives.
Our only hope across all these fronts is that we are at peak distrust in facts and science—that the pendulum will soon swing back, and that trust in truth will be restored.
The U.S. needs 5G technology, just like it needs vaccinations.
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Jeffrey Cole is the founder and director of The Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg.
See all columns from the center.
May 22, 2019