Name: Quebec police probe possible link to COVID-19 conspiracy theory after three cellphone tower fires
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Quebec police probe possible link to COVID-19 conspiracy theory after three cellphone tower fires

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This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. MONTREAL — On Sunday, a small town north of Montreal felt it necessary to write a message on its Facebook page specifying that its cellphone tower did not have 5G capability in response to numerous questions from concerned citizens. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. By 4 a.m. Monday morning, the tower in the town of Prevost, Que., was on fire. Twenty minutes earlier, authorities were called to another cellphone tower fire in the nearby community of Piedmont. Provincial police suspect foul play in both fires. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Try refreshing your browser, or. Those fires, about 70 kilometres north of Montreal, occurred after another cellphone tower caught fire early Friday morning in Montreal’s northern suburb of Laval. Sign up to receive the daily top stories from the National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You may unsubscribe any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300 A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again Mariepier Des Lauriers, spokeswoman for the town of Prevost, said that in recent weeks many residents had brought up unfounded conspiracy theories linking 5G cellphone technology to COVID-19. 5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for cellphone companies that is progressively being rolled out around the world. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. “It’s not the first time that people get alarmed by fake news or things they see on the internet,” she said in an interview Monday. False narratives around 5G and the coronavirus have been shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media. They vary widely from claims that the coronavirus is a coverup for 5G deployment to those who say new 5G installations have created the virus. Some 50 fires targeting cell towers and other equipment have been reported in Britain this month, leading to three arrests. About 16 have been torched in the Netherlands, with attacks also reported in Ireland, Cyprus, and Belgium. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Jean-Francois Albert, director of the town of Piedmont, said he hasn’t heard any concerns from locals about the safety of 5G technology. His town’s cellphone tower is located on city property and used to be operated by Telus, but he said the town recently signed a new contract with Bell. The tower is not 5G, however, he said in an interview Monday. It's not the first time that people get alarmed by fake news Prevost’s tower is owned by Rogers but has Bell equipment on it. Both Albert and Des Lauriers said the towers in their towns sustained fire damage, but cell phone service was still operational in both towns. In Laval, police spokeswoman Stephanie Beshara said Monday she didn’t know if investigators had opened a criminal investigation into the fire. Media reports said Laval’s fire department had initially claimed the tower had 5G capability, but they later corrected themselves and said it did not. Police have no suspects in connection with the fires. Provincial police spokesman Marc Tessier said investigators will be contacting Laval police to see if the fires Monday are connected to Friday’s incident — and whether they are in any way tied to conspiracy theories about 5G technology and the novel coronavirus. “All the different hypotheses are being looked at,” Tessier said in an interview Monday. — With files from The Associated Press Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about . By continuing to use our site, you agree to our and . OK

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. MONTREAL — On Sunday, a small town north of Montreal felt it necessary to write a message on its Facebook page specifying that its cellphone tower did not have 5G capability in response to numerous questions from concerned citizens. Story continues below This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. By 4 a.m. Monday morning, the tower in the town of Prevost, Que., was on fire. Twenty minutes earlier, authorities were called to another cellphone tower fire in the nearby community of Piedmont....

Quebec police probe possible link to COVID-19 conspiracy theory after three cellphone tower fires

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