Barrie Trower

[[File:Barrie-Trower.jpg‎|thumb|right|165px|Barrie in an interview]]{{pseudosciencenav}}
{{cquote|Here [[they]] are targeting you probably with a [[Essay:Brain_Beam|beam]] and it is on you all day, it can follow you everywhere you go and [[Targeted Individuals|it can target you]] when you’re asleep as well. So you’re really getting a concentrated dose. It’s a bit like putting the light on in your house and sitting with the light or have somebody follow you with a search light and beaming the search light on you all the time.|||Barrie Trower spreads fear and [[paranoia]] about WiFi<ref name=dangers>[https://www.naturalscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/2015-06-22-WFNS-Factsheet-Interview-with-Barrie-Trower-english-WEB-.pdf The Danger of Microwave Technology]. naturalscience.org, April 2015.</ref>}}

'''Barrie Trower''' is a [[pseudoscience|pseudoscientist]], [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorist]], and [[crank]] who believes that [[microwave]]s and related technologies are a major threat to public health. He is frequently cited by other conspiracy theorists and cranks, especially the [[paranoia|paranoid]] crowd that believes that electromagnetic radiation is part of various [[conspiracy theory|nefarious plots]] against humanity.

Trower allegedly trained in the [[British]] "Government Microwave Warfare Establishment" in the 1960s and worked with the underwater bomb disposal unit.<ref name=background>[http://www.tetrawatch.net/tetra/trower.php The background to the Trower report] at tetrawatch.net.{{quotebox|In the 1960s I trained at the Government Microwave Warfare Establishment. I worked with the Underwater Bomb disposal unit which used microwaves within its unit. In the 1970s one of my tasks over an eleven year period was to de-brief spies involved in microwave warfare. The location and process that I used I cannot go into as it is still considered secret. I have two Degrees, and a Diploma and in my retirement I now teach Advanced Level Physics, some Mathematics and some Human Physiology at South Dartmoor College.}}</ref> He hasn't given any concrete evidence to support his apparent training and work. He also claims that after this he "went on to teach advanced physics and mathematics at South Dartmoor College", which in practice means he was a high school teacher, as {{wpl|South Dartmoor Community College|South Dartmoor College}} is a secondary school in Ashburton, Devon, England. Perhaps he wants you to think it's a research university.<ref>[https://www.5gawareness.com/event/barrie-trower-the-shocking-truth-about-5g-and-wi-fi-free/ Barrie Trower – The Shocking Truth About 5G and Wi-Fi (FREE) December 11, 2019 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm], 5G Awareness, accessed 18 Feb 2020</ref>

==Claims==
Trower claims that WiFi 
is the [[devil]]
 uses "the same frequencies and powers as [[microwave]] stealth warfare weapons",<ref>[http://www.emfandhealth.com/Barrie%20WiFi2.html Barrie Ontario Wi-Fi Concerns cont.: Ontario Teachers Support Wi-Fi] ''EMF & Health''.</ref> which doesn't sound so scary if you know the properties of microwaves. In addition, he claims to be some sort of scientific prophet because he thinks that he predicted police officers and civilians becoming ill because of TETRA's (Terrestrial Trunked Radio's) microwaves.<ref>[http://www.mast-victims.org/forum/index.php?action=vthread&forum=1&topic=56 So who is our microwave specialist: Barry Thrower?] (16 Dec 2005 03:04) Mast-Victims.org: Discussion Forum & Bulletin Board.</ref> According to his revelations, if microwaves were honestly that harmful we would, by now, have many cases of people becoming seriously ill from the dreaded fiend in disguise the [[sheeple]] know as Wi-Fi… Remember to buy a packet of [[tinfoil hats]] for the entire family, the man in the straitjacket said so!

==The TETRA Report==

{{cquote|The problem with the microwave communications industry is that they do not have to prove it is safe; you have to prove it is not, and that is an entirely different ball game. As a scientist, if I develop a new pill I have to run a 5 or 10 year clinical trial and convince a Board of my peers that it is safe before I have permission to release the pill onto the market. With the telecommunications industry the tables are completely turned around. They do not have to show these instruments are safe; you have to show they are not.|||Barrie Trower summarizes a purported microwave radiation conspiracy engineered by the telecommunications industry<ref name=tetra>[http://www.tetrawatch.net/papers/trower_report.pdf Confidential Report on TETRA Strictly for the Police Federation of England and Wales] by B Trower. tetrawatch.net</ref>}}

In 2001, Trower presented his theories at the Devon and Cornwall branch of the Police Federation. The subject of his talk was the supposed dangers of the {{wpl|Terrestrial Trunked Radio}} (TETRA) mobile radio communications system deployed for use by police officers in the [[UK]]. This resulted in a screed entitled "Confidential Report on TETRA Strictly for the Police Federation of England and Wales," where Trower outlines a massive conspiracy theory asserting that the dangers of microwave radiation on the health of the populace is intentionally supressed by the telecommunciations industry. He backs up this claim using a variety of sources, including anecdotal evidence related to the [[Military-industrial complex|global weapons industry]]. To elevate the fear factor, Trower mentions clandestine [[CIA]] and [[USSR]] projects, and, of course, the [[HAARP|High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP)]]. Despite claims that the report was released for [[peer review]],<ref>[http://www.tetrawatch.net/tetra/trower.php The background to the Trower report] at tetrawatch.net.{{quotebox|Barrie Trower supplied the names of five independent scientists he could recommend for peer review, and accepted any other scientists of the Federation’s choosing to do likewise. So in September 2001 the ‘Trower Report’ went off for peer review.

...[In 2002] The report was not yet released post-peer review. Rather than be accused of sitting on a report that warned of these things, the Report was released by the Police Federation of England and Wales. An officer released the Report onto the Internet, where it was rapidly ‘adopted’ and disseminated by campaign groups.}}</ref> there is no evidence that this ever happened.

In 2004, a UK police officer, convinced that the TETRA system was making him ill, died of cancer. This event revitalized protests against the radio system that many claim "cause headaches, sickness, disturbed sleep and skin rashes".<ref>Nick Britten and Nic Fleming, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1467414/Police-radio-system-led-to-officers-fatal-cancer-family-fears.html Police radio system led to officer's fatal cancer, family fears]. The Telegraph, 20 July 2004.</ref> Several government and academic sources reported that the radio communications system was unlikely to pose a hazard to health. Despite this, Trower published a report claiming that these reports were "both incorrect and ignorant of peer reviewed published research."<ref name=critical>[http://www.tetrawatch.net/papers/trower_on_dring.pdf TETRA: A Critical Overview into the Death of Officer Neil Dring] by B Trower, tetrawatch.net, 2004.</ref> Trower cites a number of anecdotal sources, unscientific studies, and uncited academic sources to back up his claims. The report concludes that the government is either ignorant or deliberately malicious with respect to the hazards of microwave radiation.

==Green ink==
[[File:Effects of wi-fi on girls - Barrie Trower.png|thumb|right|400px|Trower's unintentionally hilarious infographic on the dangers of microwave radiation to the female reproductive system.<ref name="impending" />]]

{{cquote|Barrie Trower lives in a world different to the rest of us. His world is every bit as dangerous as anything Tolkien could have dreamed up and with each passing day inches closer to engulf us. Very occasionally he surfaces to warn us but returns back to his world largely ignored.|||Climb aboard the crazy train.<ref name="impending">[http://www.stopthecrime.net/trower%20to%20irish.pdf Expert tells doctors of impending tragedy from EMF radiation as health of nations laid waste by technology]. stopthecrime.net.</ref>}}

Trower is completely unknown in academia. He has neither authored any serious academic works nor have any of his "reports" ever been evaluated or cited by any reputable academic entity. Despite this, the pseudoscientific veneer of Trower's claims have elevated him to minor celebrity status in the [[clogosphere]]. Dozens of [[webshite]]s cite Trower as a source, inflating his negligible qualifications and presenting him as an authority on electromagnetic radiation and health.<ref>For example, [http://stopthecrime.net/wp/ stopthecrime.net], run by noted "Smart Meter" conspiracy theorist Deborah Taveres, EMF conspiracy site "Stay on the [[Truth]]" that has a dedicated page on [http://www.stayonthetruth.com/barrie-trower-videos.php Trower's videos], the [https://www.naturalscience.org/about-us/ World Foundation for Natural Science], a pseudoscience woo site, and countless others.</ref>

This behavior is completely expected, and is an excellent example of [[crank magnetism]]. Trower's claims are always presented in a sensationalist fashion, mixing [[Gish Gallop|dozens of seemingly questionable sources]] with an obligatory distrust of government and industry.<ref name=critical /> Mainstream media has occasionally been suckered into presenting Trower as a legitimate scientist. For example, in a article about the safety of wireless networks in Canadian schools, the ''Montreal Gazette'' failed their fact checking by presenting Trower as a "British scientist and former naval microwave weapons expert" despite the fact that only source for this claim is Trower himself.<ref>Glenn Johnson, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100827022910/http://www.montrealgazette.com/cause+generational+defects+scientist/3439433/story.html Wi-Fi may cause generational defects: scientist]. Archived from the original at the Montreal Gazette, 25 August 2010.</ref> Similarly, Canada's ''National Post'' ran a sensationalist article about the dangers of WiFi using Trower's inflated credentials.<ref>Colby Cosh, [https://web.archive.org/web/20100825021152/http://www2.macleans.ca/2010/08/24/i-bet-mr-trower-has-a-delightful-accent/ I bet Mr. Trower has a delightful accent]. Archived from the original at macleans.ca, 24 August 2010.</ref>

Trower is not above using fraudulent sources to back up his claims. He backs up his contention that cellular telephone radiation causes [[DNA]] damage using university studies that were found to be fabricated.<ref>[http://www.emfandhealth.com/ScienceRudigerFraud.pdf Fraud Charges Cast Doubt on Claims of DNA Damage From Cell Phone Fields]. Science 29 August 2008:
Vol. 321. no. 5893, pp. 1144 - 1145.{{quotebox|The only two peer-reviewed scientific papers showing that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from cell phones can cause DNA breakage are at the center of a misconduct controversy at the Medical University of Vienna (MUV). Critics had argued that the data looked too good to be real, and in May a university investigation agreed, concluding that data in both studies had been fabricated and that the papers should be retracted.}}</ref><ref>[http://www.emfandhealth.com/Barrie%20WiFi.html Barrie Ontario WiFi concerns, part 1] and [http://www.emfandhealth.com/Barrie%20WiFi2.html Barrie Ontario WiFi concerns part 2]. emfandhealth.com.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Radiation]]

==External links==
*[http://geopathology-za.wikidot.com/barrie-trower Barrie Trower] profile page the "Institute for Geopathology SA" [[webshite]]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trower, Barrie}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

Categories: Living people, Conspiracy theorists, Pseudoscience promoters