5G, for most of us, is an awe-inspiring, spine-tingling prospect. The promise of the end of buffering, the arrival of driverless cars, new smart devices, more efficient public services and entertainment experiences that can finally live up to their hype.

On the other hand, it seems you can hardly scan a social media thread without the darker, stranger side of the 5G revolution revealing itself. The world of the 5G conspiracy theory.

Despite the calm, reassuring advice of the World Health Organisation, 5G has been labelled as a ‘dangerous experiment on humans’, a ‘global health threat’ and even, most recently, ‘the cause of the Coronavirus outbreak’. (Yes, you read that right.)

As a mobile operator leading the way in 5G, Three is no stranger to fear-filled feedback from the general public – a quick read of the comments to Three Sweden’s recent ‘5G roll-out’ Facebook post is a great example.

5G, of course, is far from unique; most new technologies are breeding grounds for junk science and far-fetched misinformation. It’s also true that some of the more credible and well-meaning rumours can gain traction in people’s minds.

Three Denmark, for example, were this month moved to quell allegations that treetops across the land are being chopped off, en masse, to make way for 5G radio waves, and the Danish authorities are keeping it all a big secret. Three shared a fact-checker news article in its LinkedIn feed to reassure the public that nothing of the sort was happening. Which, of course, it isn’t. You can read the article here.

Now, while we love a good conspiracy theory, we also believe in 5G’s potential to do good, not harm. And we’re sure we’ll win over the doubters, in all our markets.