Contrails are related to Hurricanes

Question

The article talks about how some people believe airplane contrails allow the government to control the weather. They also say it relates to people who deny election results and lean right politically.

Answer 1

The article states that the "chemtrail" conspiracy, the false belief that the government uses airplane contrails as a mode of controlling the weather through unknown means, has been floated by some to have been the factor for the "devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton." This conspiracy is baseless as hurricanes such as Helene and Milton form "over the ocean, often beginning as a tropical wave—a low pressure area that moves through the moisture-rich tropics, possibly enhancing shower and thunderstorm activity" (NOAA) and not through the release of chemicals in the air.

Further, it is true that many right wing oriented political figures have pushed baseless lies surrounding hurricanes as a wedge during the 2024 election cycle. This is accurate as Trump has stoked fear about hurricane response having stated that the Biden administration "stole the FEMA money," (Bloomberg) while Trump adjacent political figures like RFK Jr -- a known vaccine conspiracy theorist -- have shown legitimizing acknowledgement of the conspiracy theory stating "We are going to stop this crime." (RFK Jr on X) 

Finally, it is worth acknowledging that the "chemtrail" conspiracy has made its way into legislation within the country with Tennessee state representative Monty Fritts (R) having introduced a bill that would halt the "injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state." (House Bill No. 2063*) This action from Tennessee gives credibility to the conspiracy theory have and reaffirms the political usages of it as a way to influence voters.

Here are links to the listed sources:

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/how-hurricanes-form.html#:~:text=Hurricanes%20are%20powerhouse%20weather%20events,enhancing%20shower%20and%20thunderstorm%20activity.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-10-08/trump-s-lies-about-fema-only-hurt-hurricane-helene-milton-victims

https://tennesseelookout.com/2024/03/26/chemtrail-bill-set-for-house-circuit-described-as-nonsense/

Comments

Very in-depth and detailed response and fact check to this original claim. The usage and mix of sources is well done as we can refer to an arguable original and unbiased source material, the US NOAA, and look to perhaps other reliable news outlets who share their takes on this topic. With a good mix and usage of different source materials, the validity in our fact check is strong and we see how weak the original claim can be because of the difference in support and reasoning behind the claim and the reality that challenges it which is important in our present media landscape.

Answer 2

After looking into the topic further, sources summarize that the claim rooted from right-wing conspiracy theorist influencers online. CNN, a reliable news source, covered the topic in an article published on October 10, 2024, stating that influencers with a large following are using their platform to promote their ideals or theories like this one to gain their veiwers support. People's opinions on the internet are easily swayed, so when big influencers promote claims similar to this, many will fall into the trap of belief and spread the news themselves. A single hint of false information can snowball into mass amounts of people believing the claim, which is detrimental to media reliability. So far, CNN is the first to write about the topic in an article, but social media outlets and influencers are talking about the topic today. The article states that, "contrails appear when water vapor condenses and freezes around the exhaust from an aircraft," and that there's nowhere close to enough vapor for the contrails to affect hurricanes. The claim made is not true.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/10/weather/hurricanes-chemtrail-conspiracy-theory-trump/index.html