Fabricated story about Vladimir Putin banning 5G in Russia repackaged on social media

A recent blog post leans into both 5G fears and support for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, claiming he has banned the wireless technology. 

“Putin bans 5G across Russia, destroys all towers,” reads an Aug. 5 headline on a blog called dainikbidyaloy.com. 

But the post’s byline, Michael Baxter, is familiar from the website Real Raw News, which habitually posts fabricated stories. 

And this particular claim was poached from there. 

A Facebook post sharing the blog post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

First, about 5G, or the fifth generation of cellular networks: It refers to a new standard for the internet that promises higher internet connection speeds and quality, especially for wireless devices. 

The World Health Organization has said there is no proven causal link between adverse health effects and wireless technologies.

In 2019, Russian network RT America aired a segment warning about 5G’s supposed dire health threats, The New York Times reported, even as Putin “ordered the launch of Russian 5G networks in a tone evoking optimism rather than doom.”  

“We need to look forward,” he said. “The challenge for the upcoming years is to organize universal access to high-speed internet, to start operation of the fifth-generation communication systems.” 

We found no evidence that Putin has banned 5G technology or destroyed 5G towers in Russia. 

Real Raw News’ website includes an “About Us” page with a disclaimer that says it contains “humor, parody and satire,” and PolitiFact has debunked many of the fantastical, false stories the site has published. 

We rate this post False.