Follow the money!

February 3, 2023

Why do some scientists tell us 5G is safe while others call for a moratorium on the 5G rollout?

Australian researchers have an answer.

In a paper published earlier this month, Australian researchers Stephen Weller and Dr Julie McCredden explain why not all science is equal - and, not surprisingly, it has to do with money.

Weller and McCredden examined the qualifications, funding and affiliations of researchers who had weighed in on the 5G debate. They found that there were broadly two separate camps.

Precautionary scientists

The first consists of the scientists who recognise the potential risks of exposure and recommend a precautionary approach. They include highly qualified, experienced and respected scientists such as Dr James Lin, Professor Igor Belyaev, Professor Fiorella Belpoggi, Professor Lennart Hardell and Dr Di Ciaula.

They are ‘predominantly medical experts, epidemiologists, biological scientists and biophysicists, or analysts whose papers conclude that there is evidence for risk of harm,’ Weller and McCredden say.

Many of these experts arrived at the view that there could be serious health problems from exposure over a period of time as a result, as a result of evidence they observed. And many of them ‘have organized into independent science-based advocacy groups in order that their evidence-based concerns may be heard.’

No-evidence-of-harm scientists

The other camp consists of scientists who claim there is no evidence of harm.

They are ‘mostly industry linked and affiliated with regulatory agencies worldwide. They do not advise precaution, do not change their opinions, and they downplay the results of scientists who claim that harm exists,’ say Weller and McCredden. Of note, they ‘have more expertise in physics or engineering than in biology or biophysics’.

Industry influence of science

Weller and McCredden explain the incestuous relationship between governments and the telecommunications industry. They say, that:

  • the telecommunications industry influences research through funding of universities and research programs

  • international advisory bodies, the WHO (EMF project) and ICNIRP (the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection) are closely linked to industry

  • ‘Government advisory agencies are unable to make independent statements about health and exposures, because they are expected to support government plans for comprehensive internet of things (IoT) and smart cities, which are dependent on wireless technologies’

  • governments obtain income from the sale of RF spectrum

  • the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) financially supports the WHO-EMF.

The Australian team provides examples of techniques used to maintain the no evidence of harm narrative in many scientific papers – bias, watering down results and ‘repeating the “no conclusive evidence” mantra’.

Unfortunately, they say, ‘Authors aligned with ICNIRP and/or the WHO EMF project have the ear of governments worldwide. It is this second industry-linked group that is controlling the official narrative.’

Relevant questions they pose for government authorities are:

  • ‘Why are government regulatory bodies not heeding the world's independent authorities?

  • ‘When will industry take responsibility for clear communication of risk?

  • ‘Why is the public not being educated in how to avoid potential harm?

  • ‘Why is the precautionary principle not being included within government policies regarding all wireless technologies, including 5G?’


‘Denigrating or silencing those scientists who are pointing out the problem is not going to help to solve it. Rather, the input of these scientists as well as the rational public is needed for the courageous problem solving that is urgently required so as to reduce RF-EMF-induced erosion of human and planetary health,’ Weller and McCredden conclude.

References
Weller S and McCredden JE (2024) Understanding the public voices and researchers speaking into the 5G narrative. Front. Public Health 11:1339513. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1339513; 

Note: A fuller history of the links between industry, government and universities in Australia is given by Dr Don Maisch in Spin in the Antipodes (Chap 16 in Corporate Ties that Bind);

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