What was claimed
The signals emitted by 5G towers are damaging to humans, animals and plants, and can cause health conditions, including heart and vision problems.
Our verdict
There is no evidence that 5G technology is harmful to human health when used within the recommended exposure limits.
A picture of a poster making a number of claims about health risks of 5G exposure is recirculating on social media. But there’s no evidence that wireless cellular technology, such as 5G networks, are harmful to health when exposure is within the recommended limits.
Text on the image shared on Facebook and Instagram says: “This is a 5G small cell tower. The signals emitted by this tower are damaging to humans, animals and plants.’’ It then lists several health conditions supposedly caused by exposure, including headaches, cognitive fatigue, and heart and vision problems.
5G uses radio waves that make up part of the electromagnetic spectrum of non-ionising radiation. These waves can occur naturally as well as from artificial sources, such as base stations or “cell towers”, which help transmit the radio waves.
It is generally agreed that health effects are unlikely to occur if exposure to radiowaves is within the recommended limits set out by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
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The ICNIRP says: ‘‘A considerable amount of research has been conducted on the relationship between RF EMFs [radiofrequency electromagnetic fields] and health outcomes such as headaches, concentration difficulty, sleep quality, cognitive function, cardiovascular effects, etc. This research has not shown any such health effects.’’
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also monitors for evidence of any health effects caused by electromagnetic fields including radio frequencies. It states that “the overall exposure is expected to remain low relative to guidelines and, as such, there should be no consequences for public health”.
Additionally, this technology has not been shown to increase the risk of cancer and non-ionising radiation does not damage DNA.
This is not the first time we’ve debunked claims about the apparent health dangers of 5G.
Health misinformation like this can damage people’s physical or psychological health, and also affect trust in public safety regulations and institutions.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because the ICNIRP says there are no health risks of 5G when exposure is within the recommended limits.
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Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.