Fact check: Oregon weather broadcast isn’t proof of chemtrails theory

February 25, 2022 chemtrails

The claim: A weatherman admitted the military is ‘spraying chemtrails’

Some social media users claim a meteorologist confirmed the existence of chemtrails during a weather broadcast aired over a decade ago.

“Weatherman admits military is spraying chemtrails,” reads text above a news clip posted Jan. 12 on Facebook.

“Spraying chemtrails” alludes to a conspiracy theory that the U.S. government secretly adds chemicals to the atmosphere for mass sterilization, mind control or weather control.

The Facebook video accumulated more than 8,000 views within a month. It was taken from a longer news clip from a CBS affiliate in Medford, Oregon, featuring chief meteorologist Kevin Lollis. The clip has been circulating online since at least April 2010.

Despite citing a news source, the Facebook post’s claim is wrong.

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Lollis didn’t mention the military “spraying chemtrails” at any point during the video. He mentions a radar countermeasure used during military exercises, as independent fact-checking organizations have reported.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who posted the video for comment.

Weatherman mentioned military maneuver

At the beginning of the video, Lollis says there is “a bit of an unusual situation” in parts of southern Oregon and northern California. Pointing to a radar that appears to show precipitation, he says a “military aircraft flying through the region is dropping chaff.”

Chaff is a defensive mechanism used by military aircraft to confuse radar-seeking missiles in the air, according to an Air Force fact sheet published by the Environmental Protection Agency. When a plane ejects chaff, the fibers – made of glass silicate with an aluminum coating – create a radar-reflective cloud that simulates aircraft and creates false targets.

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When asked for details about the purported military exercise referenced in the newscast, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told USA TODAY in an email that the service branch “does not maintain information pertaining to exercises held over a decade ago.”

Chaff is often released during military training exercises, as documented by images published on stock photo websites like Alamy. The defensive measure, along with flares, is crucial for older aircraft that constitute the majority of the military’s inventory, Defense News reported in 2018.

However, chaff can interfere with air traffic and weather-tracking radars, according to a 1998 report from the Government Accountability Office.

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In 2018, National Weather Service radars picked up chaff dropped from a C-130 near Evansville, Indiana, ABC News reported at the time. In a similar event, local weather radars picked up chaff released during a 2013 training exercise near Huntsville, Alabama, the National Weather Association reported.

The Government Accountability Office report says that, to avoid interference with radars, military facilities must obtain clearance before using chaff during exercises. There are also restrictions on what kind of chaff can be used, where it can be used and the altitudes at which it can be released.

Chaff particles aren’t a concern for public health, as their chemical composition is “essentially identical to soil,” according to the Air Force fact sheet.

A C-130 U.S. Air Force plane flies over Paul Brown Stadium before the start of the first quarter of a Week 14 NFL football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, in Cincinnati.

Chemtrails conspiracy theory previously debunked

The theory that the government is releasing chemicals into the environment to control the population is unfounded, according to several government agencies and independent fact-checking organizations.

The theory claims some planes’ condensation trails are filled with chemicals because they are longer, brighter and don’t disappear as quickly as regular contrails, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

Contrails are ice particles resulting from water vapor emitted by an airplane as it burns fuel, according to the EPA. Some contrails look different depending on altitude, temperature and humidity.

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The chemtrails conspiracy theory has been debunked. In its fact sheet, the Air Force described the theory as a “hoax” that’s been around since 1996.

“The Air Force is not conducting any weather modification experiments or programs and has no plans to do so in the future,” the service branch wrote.

The EPA says on its website that it’s “not aware of any deliberate actions to release chemical or biological agents into the atmosphere.” Independent fact-checking organizations like Reuters and PolitiFact have debunked claims that photos of routine military exercises are evidence of chemtrails.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a weatherman admitted the military is “spraying chemtrails.” Lollis makes no mention of chemtrails in the video shared on Facebook. Instead, he mentions a radar countermeasure used during military exercises. Government agencies and independent fact-checking organizations have previously debunked the chemtrails conspiracy theory.