Alex Jones’ Infowars outlet is pushing conspiracy theories that claim Hurricane Dorian is being controlled by weather weapons, possibly in an attempt to cause problems for President Donald Trump. While Infowars’ weather-themed conspiracy theories are often humorous, they also represent how leading conspiracy theorists use weather events to indoctrinate their followers into believing that climate change is a hoax.

During a broadcast this week, after Hurricane Dorian ravaged the Bahamas and continued to approach the United States, Jones took a call from a woman who put forth a theory that someone used weather control to park Dorian over the Bahamas so that they could blackmail Trump “to play ball” otherwise they would “take out several thousand people over the Eastern Seaboard” and hit Mar-A-Lago in Florida. Jones gave a rambling response, referencing his belief that the technology to control hurricanes exists and his infamous comments about tornadoes that hit Oklahoma in 2013. He then praised the caller’s theory and said, “It’s very legitimate to say that, very legitimate to question that, so I appreciate your call. Really powerful subject you brought up.”

Similarly, Infowars show War Room also pushed weather weapon conspiracy theories about Dorian this week. War Room host Owen Shroyer played a video where a conspiracy theorist argued “directed energy technology” has been used to change the path of Dorian. After showing the video, Shroyer pivoted to an attack on research showing the influence of climate change on hurricanes, saying, “This whole thing about man-made global warming, it’s all in the west. If you actually look at where this hurricane originated and where most hurricanes originate that come up the Atlantic coast, guess where they come from? East -- or excuse me -- West Africa. You can all see it on a map.”

As Gizmodo reporter and author Anna Merlan noted, as extreme weather events become increasingly common, so will conspiratorial claims from climate change deniers. 

While Jones has been mostly banned from broadcasting on major social media networks, he still maintains a large terrestrial radio audience and a leading conspiracy theory website, ensuring his followers have a platform to access and advance conspiracy theories about extreme weather events.