The Weather-Changing Conspiracy Theory That Will Never End

"Many people who don't believe one conspiracy theory about that station-known as the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, or HAARP-believe another. A common misconception is that it can manufacture northern lights, a natural wonder typically most visible in or near the Arctic Circle. It cannot (and neither can any man-made instrument)."

"The lab has also been erroneously credited with various supernatural occurrences (backward-walking caribou) and secret contact with extraterrestrials (covered up by 'men in black'). Most commonly, it's blamed for events caused by nature. The office phone rings after hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, tornadoes, and typhoons, no matter where in the world they occur."

"A 2024 study found that HAARP was the subject of more than a million conspiracism-inflected posts on Twitter from January 2022 to March 2023, primarily about natural disasters. In early 2024, the far-right influencer Laura Loomer suggested that HAARP created a snowstorm to dampen turnout at the Iowa caucuses and thwart the Trump campaign."

HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in Alaska is surrounded by persistent conspiracy theories attributing it with weather control, aurora manipulation, and causing natural disasters worldwide. The facility receives calls blaming it for hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and tornadoes regardless of location. A 2024 study documented over one million conspiracy-related posts about HAARP on Twitter between January 2022 and March 2023, primarily linking it to natural disasters. Despite these claims, HAARP cannot manufacture auroras or control weather. Misconceptions range from alien contact to weather manipulation, with recent examples including false claims about creating snowstorms during political events and causing Hurricane Melissa.

Read at The Atlantic