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Andrea Austria/Media Matters

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As Hurricane Milton grows, so do conspiracy theories falsely attributing hurricanes to weather manipulation

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, conspiracy theorists blame the new storm approaching Florida on HAARP or cloud seeding

Special Programs Climate & Energy

Written by Ilana Berger & Chloe Simon

Research contributions from Alex Kaplan

Published

  • As Florida prepares for Hurricane Milton, currently a Category 4 storm expected to make landfall on October 9, right-wing conspiracy theorists blame supposed weather manipulation instead of acknowledging climate change.

  • In the wake of Hurricane Helene, climate-fueled Hurricane Milton is now heading toward Florida

    • Category 4 Hurricane Milton is on a path toward Florida where residents are being told to “prepare for the state's largest evacuation effort in years.” The National Hurricane Center has warned that this hurricane presents “an extremely life-threatening situation.” [BBC, 10/8/24; CBS News, 10/8/24; National Hurricane Service, 10/8/24]
       
    • Parts of Florida, particularly the coastal Big Bend region, were just devastated by the Category 4 Hurricane Helene. At least 18 Floridians living in coastal communities died as a result of the hurricane. The New York Times reported that a Kenton Beach sheriff “told a local TV station that 90 percent of the homes had been washed away” and that other areas were “completely gone.” [The New York Times, 9/29/24]
       
    • Burning fossil fuels is making oceans warmer, creating storms with heavier rainfall and more severe flooding. NBC News explained how these hurricanes are intensifying rapidly due to the “warmer atmosphere” which “can also hold more moisture, that makes storms capable of dumping tremendous rainfall over land. As such, climate change-fueled hurricanes can cause more severe flooding and be more destructive overall.” For example, Hurricane Milton’s sustained wind speed increased by 90 mph in approximately 25 hours. [NBC News, 10/7/24; Climate Central, 10/7/24]

  • Conspiracy theorists falsely claim Hurricane Milton is a result of government weather manipulation or is a geoengineered weapon meant to target civilians

    • While geoengineering techniques such as cloud seeding are used to combat drought, there is no evidence they have contributed to intensifying hurricanes. Cloud seeding describes a process in which silver iodide is launched into specific types of clouds to facilitate the formation of ice crystals or water droplets which then fall out of the clouds as snow or rain in places where it might not have fallen otherwise. However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told PolitiFact that “there are no weather modification activities that could have resulted in Hurricane Helene or Hurricane Milton.” [Vox, 8/3/22; PBS, 4/10/23; PolitiFact, 10/8/24]
       
    • Conspiracy theory account Concerned Citizen suggested on X (formerly Twitter) that Milton is the result of “geo-engineering.” The account shared a video depicting contrails (often referred to by conspiracy theorists as chemtrails) in the sky and wrote, “‘Oct 8th 2024 - Look at what they’re doing…..’ Posted a few hours ago with the caption ‘Geo-Engineering right before Milton. Unreal!’ People are finally realising what’s happening.” [Twitter/X, 10/8/24]
       
    • On YouTube, an ad appeared on a video titled “Hurricane Milton: Weather Control Secrets They Don’t Want You To Know In 2024.” “Find out the truth about weather control and cloud seeding in 2024. What is the real story behind Hurricane Milton?” read the description. The video, which has over 67,000 views, was monetized, allowing both the creators and the platform to profit from its misinformation. [YouTube, 10/7/24]
       
    • Hitler-praising conspiracy theorist Stew Peters claimed, “These aren’t normal storms, they are targeted geo-engineered weapons.” Peters doubled down in another post, alleging that Milton is a “targeted geo-engineered storm being used as a weapon” and that “hurricanes don’t develop in the western Gulf of Mexico and head straight east on a beeline path to Florida.” [Twitter/X, 10/7/24, 10/7/24; Media Matters, 8/26/24]
       
    • QAnon influencer Terpsichore Maras-Lindeman (known online as “Tore”) wrote, “Everyone should be looking at WEATHER MODIFICATION INC. located in ND> Operating since 1974 and a child of OPERATION POPEYE from the 40s” in response to another account asking about the rapid intensification of Hurricane Milton. [Twitter/X, 10/7/24; Media Matters 7/18/24]
       
    • Posting about Milton, right-wing personality Juanita Broaddrick claimed that “retired meteorologists are posting that this is not normal,” and questioned, “Do we have weather manipulation going on to cause election interference??” [Twitter/X, 10/6/24]
       
    • Christian nationalist podcaster Lance Wallnau questioned, “Is the government trying to learn how to manipulate weather” as a way to “stop Trump … from being elected.” Wallnau also suggested Milton was created by the government in a separate post, writing: “In light of our discussions about the question ‘can the government control or manipulate weather?’ If storms are not caused by nature, why is Florida the usual target? To what extent can weather really be manipulated? Why does the State Dept not use this against Russia?” [Twitter/X, 10/6/24, 10/7/24]
       
    • Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn shared a video claiming that “Hurricane Helene was an ATTACK caused by Weather Manipulation,” and wrote, “Another ‘conspiracy theory’ about to be exposed for the truth behind weather manipulation?” [Twitter/X, 10/7/24]
       
    • Fringe outlet The Burning Platform published a piece titled “FLORIDA UNDER WITHERING WEATHER ATTACK BY NWO GLOBALIST CABAL VIA GEO-ENGINEERED MILTON.” The piece alleged “just because the geoengineers are aiming Hurricane Milton at the Gulf Coast (see cone above), this thing can be routed anywhere they want to … and they can shift its path at the very last minute, which they often do with highly purposeful design.” [The Burning Platform, 10/6/24]

  • False claims about Hurricane Milton are part of a trend in which bad actors have blamed extreme weather on weather modification or so-called direct energy weapons rather than climate change

    • Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) blamed Hurricane Helene on “lasers controlling the weather,” a conspiracy theory she has repeatedly espoused. Greene wrote on X, “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.” Greene followed up with another post that said, “Lasers.. CBS, 9 years ago, talked about lasers controlling the weather.” Greene also blamed a deadly fire in 2018 on space lasers.  [Twitter/X, 10/3/24, 10/5/24; The Daily Beast, 3/6/24; Media Matters, 1/28/21]
       
    • Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Lara Logan defended Greene’s post, sharing an apparent Florida statute that prohibits “conducting a weather modification operation without first having procured a license.” [Twitter/X, 10/7/24; Media Matters, 2/26/24]
       
    • TikTok was recently flooded with videos blaming Hurricane Helene on weather modification. Users alleged that the storm had been planned in order to devastate North Carolina and create access to the land for lithium mining. Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-NC) posted a debunk for his constituents that specifically addresses this conspiracy theory. [Media Matters, 10/2/24; Edwards.house.gov, 10/8/24]
       
    • Similarly, conspiracy theorists have insisted that several deadly wildfires occurring over the last few years were the work of the federal government. Conspiracy theorists have accused the government of using so-called directed energy weapons to start wildfires in Canada, Texas, and Hawaii in recent years. Videos claiming that the fires were started deliberately proliferated across social media. [Media Matters, 3/7/24,  6/14/23, 8/23/23]