Fact Testing: Conspiracy theory over bird flu linking bird deaths to Jio 5G trial goes viral

Amid the bird flu scare in the country, a viral message on social media claims that birds are actually dying due to 5G tests done by Reliance Jio and that people are being misled into believing that bird flu is spreading in India.

Various Twitter and Facebook users have posted a message in Hindi which translates into: “Birds die due to Jio 5G testing in India and people get lies spreading bird flu.”

India Today Anti Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found that the center has so far not approved 5G trials in India. Reliance Jio also denied doing 5G tests. There has been an outbreak of bird flu in several states that has led to the deaths of birds and that governments have stopped importing chicken. However, the impact of radiation on birds is being investigated worldwide.

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Status of 5G tests in India

So far, the Union government has not allowed any telecommunications unit to test 5G technology in India. The Minister of Union, IT and Telecommunications, Ravi Shankar Prasad, recently said that the long-awaited trials for 5G technology will start soon.

In February 2019, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), while announcing a white paper on “Enabling 5G in India”, said the forum aims to introduce 5G in 2020 along with the rest of the world in India .

But according to the news report, India is behind in the race for 5G.

While the Indian government is still considering 5G trials, countries such as China, South Korea and the United States have advanced in implementing 5G, and telecommunications companies are still seeking clarity on the government’s 5G auction.

Reliance Jio and 5G trial

India Today reached a Reliance spokesperson on the viral claim regarding Jio’s 5G trial. The Reliance spokesman vehemently denied the viral allegation, calling it “fake news”. According to the spokesperson, “When the government itself has not yet given a nod to any trial, where is the issue of 5G trial for Jio!”

In December 2020, Reliance Jio said it plans to introduce 5G services in the second half of 2021.

“Jio will pioneer the 5G revolution in India in the second half of 2021.”
– Mukesh D. Ambani

Another reason to look forward to the new year. #JioAtIMC # Jio5GInternet # IMC2020Virtual #DigitalIndia #JioDigitalLife # 5G @exploreIMC

– Trust Jio (@reliancejio) 10 December 2020

Reliance Jio is partnering with US-based Qualcomm to develop 5G technologies. According to reports, Jio took advantage of Qualcomm’s technological capability, and developed a 5G product that has already been tested in the US. No such test has been done in India so far, Reliance confirmed.

Does bird flu have anything to do with 5G?

In 2018, a conspiracy theory emerged from a blog that claimed: “testing a 5G network is the cause of unexplained bird deaths in a park in The Hague, the Netherlands”.

But the international fact-checking website “Snopes” dismissed the theory and found it to be a hoax created by conspiracy websites and social media platforms.

Several studies have been done worldwide on the effect of cellular network radiation on birds, but there is no clear answer to this.

Ananda Banerjee, an ornithologist and author of the book “Common Birds of the Indian Subcontinent”, says that although cellular network radiation worldwide has always been a source of concern for birds and the animal world, it cannot be established as the main reason for sudden birds do not become “deaths”.

Bird flu in India

While the viral claim is doubtful whether birds in India have recently died from bird flu, the Union Government’s Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy has confirmed that there has been a sudden outbreak of bird flu in some parts of the country, commonly known as bird flu. . .

The government calls this a common phenomenon during the winter due to migratory birds and has appealed to the public not to panic.

Therefore, we can conclude that the virus message that says that bird flu is a rumor is misleading people and that the real reason for killing birds 5G testing by Jio is not true. In fact, 5G testing has not even started in India yet as it is still waiting for the nod of the center. On the other hand, the sudden outbreak of bird flu in some parts of the country has been confirmed by the Union government.