Twitter removes Covid-19 fake news and 5G conspiracy theories

Flooded with tweets containing misleading information about Covid-19 and its supposed connection to the 5G cell phone towers, Twitter has begun its war on fake news and conspiracy theories.

The social media giant has updated it's COVID-19 policies to remove all tweets that can ‘incite people to action and cause widespread panic, social unrest or large-scale disorder’. 

Twitter is ringing in these changes to counter the exponentially increasing flow of misinformation about the virus and installation of 5G towers. A case in point are the rumours abounding over Twitter and other platforms that 5G is responsible for the spread of the virus which led to some people to set fire to 5G towers in Britain.

“We’re prioritising the removal of COVID-19 content when it has a call to action that could potentially cause harm,” a Twitter spokesperson told TechCrunch. However, not every tweet that offers incomplete  or disputed information about Covid-19 will be removed, as per a statement from Twitter. 

Twitter has already removed more than 2,230 tweets with malicious and potentially harmful content after updating its policies on March 18. It has also identified more than 3.4 million accounts engaged in frivolous and manipulative discussions about Covid-19. 

Some examples

‘5G causes coronavirus! Go destroy the cell towers in your neighbourhood!’ and

‘The National Guard just announced that no more shipments of food will be arriving for two months! Run to the grocery store and buy everything’ - are two examples of flagrant violation that Twitter won’t tolerate any more.

The conspiracy theories have been branded ‘the worst kind of fake news’ by the National Health Service, NHS, England medical director Stephen Pow. At the same time, scientists have dismissed the connection between Covid-19 and 5G and called it ‘complete rubbish’ and biologically impossible. 

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