Birds in Coventry are falling from sky because of 5G? Fact Check

A video is spreading on social media that appear to show birds falling from the sky outside a hospital in Coventry. Most captions that accompany the video claim it is due to the 5G network that was recently installed in the area.

UNPROVEN

While there is little reason to doubt the authenticity of the video itself, the claim that 5G is the reason behind the incident appears to be baseless.

The video was first uploaded on October 7th by Joshua Brown who notes he filmed it on October 5th 2019. In the video, Brown observes several birds on the ground in the vicinity of the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) hospital either injured or seemingly dead. While Brown does not mention 5G either in the video or when he uploaded it, other more conspiracy-inclined social media users and channels copied the video, posted it elsewhere online and offered it as evidence of the “dangerous” effects of 5G.

5G – the much hyped successor to 4G – has been a popular theme for conspiracy theorists during 2018 and 2019, with many online claiming the new technology is responsible for issues such as bad migraines, fertility problems, death of wildlife, death of nearby plants and trees and even a possible cause of cancer. Some theories even claim 5G is a secret military weapon being tested, or that it can be used as a method of mind control.

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While it is true that 5G is currently live in Coventry, simply attributing it to yet-unexplained events such as this is disingenuous. History shows us that there are numerous similar incidents involving mass bird deaths that have occurred in the past (only this summer in the Somerset city of Wells – a city that incidentally has no 5G coverage, a number of pigeons had fallen dead from the sky, without explanation) and there are a number of plausible underlying factors that can cause such events to happen, without having to resort to baseless conspiracies.

Such factors can include surroundings, such as hard-to-see glass located near or in-between common nesting areas, bad or unusual weather conditions, as well as tainted food or drink sources, including the possibility of intentional or unintentional poisoning.

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As for the circumstances in this particular video, local residents and several people who work in the hospital have suggested it is likely caused by pied wagtail birds nesting in a nearby tree becoming startled by a nearby road cleaner operating in the early hours of the morning, and flying into the transparent glass panes at the hospital entrance where the video was filmed. Local media covering the incident have suggested that the birds appear to have twisted necks, suggesting they have collided with the glass.

Some workers at this particular hospital have reached out to us on social media telling us that it has occurred before, albeit to a lesser extent than that depicted in the video.

While there are many concerns that have been raised over the detrimental effects caused by long term exposure to certain types of radiation emitted from technology such as phones, such concerns are focused on effects that occur over a prolonged period of time. As such, the assertion that birds in Coventry are falling from the sky after such a short period of time being exposed to 5G – which was only introduced in 2019 – coupled with the fact there are no observations of similar phenomenon occurring in other areas where 5G has been introduced, we conclude this claim is baseless and rank it unproven.

We have contacted the RSPCA who have told us they’re investigating the issue and will update us with the results of their investigation.

We are aware of this distressing video and are now investigating the possible cause. Anyone with information about this should call the RSPCA appeals line on 0300 123 8018 and leave a message

We are also awaiting a response from the University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.