Tennessee Appears to Want to Protect Itself From ‘Chemtrails’

Tennessee’s new bill banning the release of airborne chemicals, which will become law July 1 if the governor signs it, does not mention “chemtrails” by name but is said to be inspired by the chemtrail conspiracy theory, in which toxic chemicals are said to be spread by airplanes. (The theory has been debunked multiple times.) Outlets including the BBC are, as such, referring to it as the “chemtrail” bill.

• What the bill actually bans: The “intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances” into the air, plus anything “affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight.”
• What people are saying it’s meant to ban: As the Guardian explains, the decades-old chemtrails conspiracy theory claims the cloudy white trails sometimes left behind by planes are actually chemicals being released into the atmosphere by (in some tellings) the government or (in other versions) private organizations. The goal? It also varies depending who you’re talking to, but it could be anything from mind control to weather modification. The idea is that, without saying as much, Tennessee is looking to ban chemtrails (which don’t actually exist).