Magnetic residue in video is sand from Sahara, not evidence of ‘chemtrails’ | Fact check
The claim: Magnetic residue found on cars in the UK is evidence of ‘chemtrails’
A Sept. 8 post (direct link, archive link) on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows a person wiping dirt-like, magnetic residue off a car hood.
“Apparently the Saharan sand that has mysteriously coated every car in the UK these last few days is magnetic,” reads part of the post’s caption. “Still definitely not anything to do with the non-stop chemtrailing over the UK – nope definitely couldn’t be that.”
The post was reposted more than 1,000 times on X and shared more than 40 times on Facebook, according to social media analytics tool CrowdTangle.
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Our rating: False
The residue in the video is a mix of dust and sand from the Sahara Desert in North Africa, according to geological and meteorological experts. The dust’s magnetism comes from naturally magnetic minerals found in North Africa and has nothing to do with the “chemtrails” conspiracy theory, which baselessly claims bad actors are spraying harmful material via plane.
Saharan dust shown in video is naturally magnetic
The residue found on the car in the post is Saharan dust, but it’s not evidence of nefarious activity, according to Barbara Maher, director of the Center for Environmental Magnetism and Palaeomagnetism at Lancaster University.
Scientists were able to track the dust plume using satellite imagery as it traveled from North Africa towards northwestern Europe, Maher said in an email.
Fact check: False claim ‘chemtrails’ and HAARP are used to control the weather
The pinkish-red hue of the dust is due to the “characteristic presence of hematite,” a weakly-magnetic mineral that “typically forms in dry, hot environments like the North African deserts,” Maher said.
Saharan dust also contains smaller amounts of the more strongly magnetic mineral magnetite, found in various igneous rocks across North Africa, Maher told USA TODAY.
It is likely the dust cloud mixed with other metallic elements present in the air due to human-caused pollution such as lead, nickel, arsenic, copper and zinc, she said.
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It is not unusual for dust from the Sahara to end up in the U.K. and other parts of Europe, according to Nicola Maxey, a spokesperson for the U.K.’s Met Office, the national forecasting agency.
Maher said Saharan dust reaches the U.K. “a few days a year” and has been spotted as far north as Iceland and as far west as Florida.
The post refers to the chemtrails conspiracy theory, which claims airplane condensation trails are actually chemical or biological agents released as part of a covert operation.
Condensation trails, sometimes called “contrails,” are the white streaks of condensed water vapor left in the sky in the wake of an aircraft or rocket.
Experts say the theory lacks any credibility. Claims purporting to prove chemtrails are real have been repeatedly debunked by USA TODAY and other fact-checkers.
USA TODAY reached out to the X user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Reuters also debunked this claim.
Our fact-check sources:
- Barbara Maher, Sept. 13, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Nicola Maxey, Sept. 14, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- USA TODAY, Jan. 25, False claim ‘chemtrails’ and HAARP are used to manipulate the weather
- USA TODAY, Feb. 25, 2022, Fact check: Oregon weatherman mentioned military maneuver, not chemtrails, in 2010 clip
- USA TODAY, Dec. 14, 2022, Fact check: False claim that barrels pictured on planes contain ‘chemtrails’
- USA TODAY, Aug. 16, 2016, Scientists disprove airplane ‘chemtrail’ theory
- Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, Feb. 21, Copernicus: CAMS monitors first Saharan Dust transport of 2023
- Met Office, Sept. 5, X post
- Nature, June 4, 2021, Saharan dust and giant quartz particle transport towards Iceland
- ABC News, July 20, What to know about Saharan dust affecting the US and how it can affect health
- AP, March 16, 2022, Saharan dust storm covers Spain, spreads out across Europe
- BBC, Sept. 7, Saharan dust cloud sweeps over UK covering cars in an orange powder
- Guardian, March 16, 2022, Saharan dust cloud makes English skies glow orange
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