Weather Conspiracy Theories: How Misinformation Distracts from Climate Reality

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a number of false theories have surged on social media about the root cause of the disasters. Untrue claims range from the government manipulating the weather, to land seizures for lithium mining. High-profile figures, including far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have perpetuated these weather conspiracy theories, asserting that the government specifically targeted Republican areas with weather control. While the claims have been widely debunked by scientists, fact checkers and media outlets, they persist among some groups. Taylor Green’s tweet stating, “Yes they can control the weather. It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done,” has so far been viewed over 43 million times.

Why do these conspiracy theories gain so much traction? And how do they work to distract from the real main cause of intensified natural disasters: climate change?

Yes, Weather Modification Has Been Explored by the Government

While some conspiracy theories are rooted in little to no factual evidence, the use of human intervention to manipulate hurricanes has, in fact, been explored by scientists.

One technique known as “cloud seeding” was once tested as a method for cooling down the eye of a hurricane. The strategy was first attempted in the U.S. in 1947, and from 1959 to 1971, the U.S. government spent millions developing the research. Project STORMFURY, a project of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), aimed to use cloud seeding as a way to create new eyewalls — the most dangerous part of a hurricane — in order to weaken existing ones. However, research from the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory later revealed the ineffectiveness of cloud seeding, at least for manipulating hurricanes.

By 1998, the American Meteorological Society stated there was no credible hypothesis for modifying hurricanes or similar severe weather.

Still, cloud seeding is still in use, and even funded by the government. Cloud seeding works by utilizing crystalline silver iodide particles that are structurally similar to ice. According to Scientific American, when these particles are shot into clouds, “like attracts like. Water droplets begin to cluster around the particles, freezing solid as they gather together.” Several states have attempted to use this technology in recent years to combat drought, with studies showing a 5 to 15 percent increase in precipitation.

The federal government provided $2.4 million to the Southern Nevada Water Authority in 2023, for example, to boost its cloud seeding program, and $2 million to the Wyoming Water Development Office. The Associated Press reports that the funding in Wyoming came “as key reservoirs on the Colorado River hit record lows and booming Western cities and industries fail to adjust their water use to increasingly shrinking supplies.”

Where the Current Conspiracy Theory Originated

As Americans gear up to hit the polls next month and with early voting underway in some states, the subject of extreme weather — hurricanes in the south in particular — has created a perfect storm for misinformation and politicized conspiracies. Former president and current Republican candidate Donald Trump has famously claimed that climate change is a hoax (though he has also called it “a very serious subject”), and during his presidency he rolled back over 100 environmental rules. Even as several Republican lawmakers attempt to thwart the spread of the current conspiracy, climate change skepticism among right-wingers has helped prime many voters to accept claims that the government, not climate change, is the root cause of intensified hurricanes.

Enter: weather modification, which is defined by Britannica as “the deliberate or the inadvertent alternation of atmospheric conditions by human activity, sufficient to modify the weather on local or regional scales.”

According to Taylor Greene, the proof that weather modification is being used in the U.S., in regards to hurricanes, is found “in the patents.” On October 7, she shared a tweet with what she claims is a long list of U.S. patents for technology to control  weather.

But as meteorologists and atmospheric science experts explained to PolitiFact, no technology exists that enables anyone to create a hurricane. ”There are no weather modification activities that could have resulted in Hurricane Helene,” Monica Allen, director of public affairs for NOAA, told PolitiFact. “Hurricanes form on their own given the right conditions and that was the case with Helene.”

Scientists further clarify in the article that the patents mentioned by Greene aren’t for any technology that demonstrates the ability to manipulate weather conditions.

Meteorologists and atmospheric science experts told PolitiFact that they knew of no technology that allows anyone to control the weather or create a hurricane, and they denied that the meme’s patents proved weather control is possible. https://t.co/cNOEwHIxQJ pic.twitter.com/PxWnW0Na7Y

— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) October 11, 2024

Another conspiracy claim is that Hurricane Milton was created by the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program. Others claim the Next Generation Weather Radar is to blame.

But as Science Feedback, a non-profit group of scientists that fact-check the media, notes, there is “no evidence” that these groups “have been used to modify weather events, let alone hurricanes.” In addition to misrepresenting the use of technology in both cases, the group adds that such claims “grossly underestimate the strength and power of hurricanes and humans’ ability to manipulate them — a feat that has yet to beaccomplished.”

The theory that the U.S. government is manipulating weather has now also been debunked by UCLA, Factcheck.org, The Poynter Institute, and by experts in media outlets including The Associated Press, Fox News, Forbes, The Atlantic, Reuters and more.

What Really Makes Hurricanes Worse

While the use of weather modification technology such as cloud seeding has not caused or exacerbated hurricanes, scientists agree that climate change has.

In 2022, NASA explained that “global climate models predict hurricanes will likely cause more intense rainfall and have an increased coastal flood risk due to higher storm surge caused by rising seas.” The agency also added that “hurricanes that form are more likely to become intense.” Two years later, here we are, with research showing that Hurricane Milton was made more intense by climate change.

Interestingly, while scientific debunkers assert that humans cannot control the weather, some environmental groups have taken the opportunity to point out the ironic fact that climate change is human-made. “Weather machines,” writes Greenpeace Canada on Instagram. “They are called the oil and gas industry.” 

Others have pointed out that “hurricane generating” technology could be a term used to describe factory farms.

The Link Between Factory Farming and Hurricanes

One of the greatest contributors to climate change is industrial animal agriculture, which is responsible for between 11.1 and 19.6 percent of global emissions and is a leading cause of deforestation. As a result, the United Nations and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have called for Global North countries — where beef is consumed far more than the global average — to significantly cut their meat consumption in order to meet climate targets.

But that’s a harder truth to push than a conspiracy theory. To understand that factory farms contribute to climate change and subsequent natural disasters means admitting the need to reduce global consumption of animal products. As psychologists Iwan Dinnick and Daniel Jolley write for The Conversation, denying climate change and believing conspiracy theories is, for many, simply easier.

Why Some People Believe Conspiracy Theories Over Climate Change

“People have a fundamental need to feel safe and secure in their environment,” Dinnick and Jolley write. “If climate change is real, it poses an existential threat, leading some to reject it in favor of conspiracy theories that preserve their sense of safety.” They add that “when faced with the uncontrollable nature of climate change, people often embrace conspiracy theories to regain that sense of control.”

By denying the existence of climate change, individuals are then absolved of the need to take action. “The more that people believe in climate conspiracy theories, the less likely they are to take action to mitigate climate change,” the authors write. “Research has shown that merely exposing people to climate change conspiracies is sufficient to decrease their desire to sign a petition to support pro-environmental policies.”

“A conspiracy theory can have a direct impact on how someone behaves,” Jolley tells Sentient. “But beliefs can also be used to justify behaviors.” For example, he explains, “a reluctance to engage in behavioral change [such as diet change] could result in a conspiracy theory to justify that non-action.”

The Bottom Line

While conspiracies about government weather manipulation thrive on social media, they also work to distract from the undeniable link between climate change and intensified natural disasters. Such theories work to thwart climate action, absolve individuals of the responsibility to make changes and provide fodder for increasingly divisive politics. To confront the challenges posed by climate change, fostering media literacy and promoting scientific consensus are crucial, both for informed public discourse and meaningful action.

An earlier version of this story included a grant to Wyoming Water Development that went to Southern Nevada Water Authority.