COVID-19, 5G conspiracies and infrastructural futures

Meese, J; Frith, J; Wilken, R

COVID-19, 5G conspiracies and infrastructural futures

Meese, J

Frith, J Wilken, R

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Publisher:: SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Media International Australia, 2020, 177, (1), pp. 30-46
Issue Date:: 2020-11-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Meese, J https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1910-6166
dc.contributor.author	Frith, J
dc.contributor.author	Wilken, R
dc.date.accessioned	2022-10-31T01:11:39Z
dc.date.available	2022-10-31T01:11:39Z
dc.date.issued	2020-11-01
dc.identifier.citation	Media International Australia, 2020, 177, (1), pp. 30-46
dc.identifier.issn	1329-878X
dc.identifier.issn	2200-467X
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/163014
dc.description.abstract	This article examines the emergence of conspiracy theories linking COVID-19 with 5G, with a focus on Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. The article is in two parts. The first details long-standing concerns around mobile technologies and infrastructures before showing how they translate to specific worries about 5G technology. The second shows how these fears have fuelled specific conspiracies connecting 5G with COVID-19, how they have animated protests and acts of vandalism that have occurred during the pandemic, and the ongoing engagement of conspiracists with official inquiries into 5G. Finally, we argue that a productive way to understand what is happening with 5G is to look beyond conspiracy theories to a larger set of concerns. We argue that the battle for control of 5G infrastructure can be productively understood in geopolitical terms, as forms of economic statecraft, which partly explains why governments are increasingly concerned about countering misinformation and disinformation around 5G.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
dc.relation.ispartof	Media International Australia
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/1329878X20952165
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	16 Studies in Human Society, 19 Studies in Creative Arts and Writing, 20 Language, Communication and Culture
dc.title	COVID-19, 5G conspiracies and infrastructural futures
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	177
utslib.for	16 Studies in Human Society
utslib.for	19 Studies in Creative Arts and Writing
utslib.for	20 Language, Communication and Culture
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/School of Communication
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2022-10-31T01:11:38Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	177
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

This article examines the emergence of conspiracy theories linking COVID-19 with 5G, with a focus on Australia, the United States and United Kingdom. The article is in two parts. The first details long-standing concerns around mobile technologies and infrastructures before showing how they translate to specific worries about 5G technology. The second shows how these fears have fuelled specific conspiracies connecting 5G with COVID-19, how they have animated protests and acts of vandalism that have occurred during the pandemic, and the ongoing engagement of conspiracists with official inquiries into 5G. Finally, we argue that a productive way to understand what is happening with 5G is to look beyond conspiracy theories to a larger set of concerns. We argue that the battle for control of 5G infrastructure can be productively understood in geopolitical terms, as forms of economic statecraft, which partly explains why governments are increasingly concerned about countering misinformation and disinformation around 5G.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/163014