" ITREALMS: Study unveils 'Belief in 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theories linked to violence' - ITREALMS

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Study unveils 'Belief in 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theories linked to violence' - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The latest study by the Northumbria University, Newcastle has linked the recent violence on Fifth Generation (5G) and Coronavirus or COVID-19 on belief of conspiracy theories, reports ITREALMS.

Belief in 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theories linked to violence, reveals Northumbria study

ITREALMS gathered that Psychologists at Northumbria University, Newcastle, in the study provided the first scientific evidence of the link between violent behaviour towards the telecommunications sector and 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs.

Also, ITREALMS recalled that attacks on telecoms workers and infrastructure have been reported since the commencement of this pandemic.

According to the study, telecommunications companies, police officials, and media outlets worldwide have suggested that 5G coronavirus conspiracies have sparked a flurry of attacks on telecoms workers and infrastructure since the World Health Organisation (WHO) declare coronavirus as pandemic on January 30, 2020.

The study equally noted that arson attacks and cases of criminal damage to masts, cabling and other telecoms equipment were reported in over a dozen countries across the globe, from various places in Europe, to Canada, America, and New Zealand.

"In April, the BBC’s Newsbeat reported on accounts of harassment and violence, even murder threats, towards telecoms engineers in the UK, due to false theories suggesting that the emergence of the virus is connected to 5G.

"Previous research has shown that conspiracy theories may be linked with violent intentions. To date, however, there have been no studies about why and when conspiracy beliefs may justify – and ignite – violence.

"Now, new research from the Department of Psychology at Northumbria University has addressed these gaps. The paper has been published in the British Journal of Social Psychology online."

Additionally the investigation of the psychological links authored by the duo of Dr Daniel Jolley and Dr Jenny Paterson explored the association between beliefs in 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theories and the justification and willingness to use violence in response to the alleged link between 5G and COVID-19.

ITREALMS gathered that the researchers assessed 601 UK participants’ levels of 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, ‘state anger’ – which is temporary, short-lasting outbursts of anger, and levels of paranoia. Here, paranoia refers to participants’ belief that there is hostile intent towards them personally – as opposed to the conspiratorial belief that powerful organisations are harming society at large.

Equally, the study indicated that participants were asked questions about whether they thought violence was a justified response to the alleged link between 5G mobile technology and COVID-19. Participants similarly stated how likely they would be to engage in such behaviours.

Further findings, ITREALMS gathered, revealed that belief in 5G COVID-19 conspiracy theories was positively correlated with state anger. In turn, this state anger was associated with a greater justification of violence in response to a supposed connection between 5G mobile technology and COVID-19.

"Alongside this, the results highlighted a greater intent to engage in similar behaviours in the future in those who subscribed to conspiratorial beliefs," the authors said in a university bulletin available to ITREALMS.

They pointed out that all of these associations were strongest for those who reported higher levels of paranoia.

"The psychologists’ research also indicates that these patterns are not specific to 5G conspiratorial beliefs: general conspiracy theorising was linked to justification and willingness to engage in violent behaviour more generally because such theorising was associated with increased state anger. Furthermore, the link between this conspiratorial induced anger was most strongly associated with the justification of violence for participants who were most paranoid."

"Dr Daniel Jolley, a Senior Lecturer in Psychology, said: “Disconcertingly, the consequences of conspiracy theories are significant and wide-ranging. Our novel findings extend our understanding and provide the first empirical link between 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and violent reactions, alongside uncovering why (anger) and when (paranoia) conspiracy beliefs may justify the use of violence.”

“These findings are notable because of their possible practical implications. As conspiracy beliefs can be resistant to change, our research suggests that targeting the link between anger and violence may be an effective initial approach to mitigate the relationships between conspiracy beliefs, anger and violence”, explained Dr Jenny Paterson, Senior Lecturer in Psychology.

"Northumbria is a research-rich, business-focused, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence.


"The research, entitled Pylons ablaze: Examining the role of 5G COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs and support for violence (Daniel Jolley and Jenny L. Paterson, Northumbria University) is published in the British Journal of Social Psychology."

Chuks Egbune/DoP


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6 comments:

patsm00re18 said...

I think I'm crying to see about this violence. It's that exquisite. But may be you just want to visit free fire official.

James said...

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Alex Mate said...

I don't think so any type of virus is connected through raise in 5G but it's a conspiracy theory anything can be possible. Take my online class.

Michael Alex said...

This is just a myth there's no connection between a virus and 5G connectivity. Take my online exam for me.

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