Fact Check-Old military video is not proof of the ‘chemtrails’ conspiracy; it shows a widely known army tactic for hiding ships

Confusion over the context of an old military video has resulted in social media users falsely suggesting it reveals proof of a previously debunked conspiracy theory.

The video was uploaded to Facebook on April 20 by a user who has repeatedly shared misinformation in the past (here , here). It shows grainy footage of an aircraft flying across a stretch of water, leaving behind a long, large white plume of smoke. This plume falls to the water to create a wall of smoke in front of a nearby ship. “Of course it’s just a conspiracy,” the user writes in the caption (here).

Comments underneath reveal that the user’s followers believe the video to show chemtrails. “They still do this shit today, it’s called weather control,” writes one person. “Same shit that comes out of NASA rockets when being launched, anytime NASA launches a rocket to ‘space’ you will notice somewhere will have extreme weather. Chemtrails and rocket launches mess with the weather!”

Another adds: “Were they chemtrailing humanity even back then?”

“Chemtrails” refer to an old debunked conspiracy theory that says “governments or other parties are engaged in a secret program to add toxic chemicals to the atmosphere from aircraft in a way that forms visible plumes in the sky” (here , here , here , here). Reuters has previously addressed this topic here and here).

Meanwhile, the Facebook video, filmed in 1923, actually shows an aircraft creating a “smoke curtain” during a United States military operation to sink its USS New Jersey and USS Virginia (here , here). The two battleships are said to have been due for destruction due to a disarmament agreement at the end of the First World War (here).

The history of “smoke curtains”, or smoke screens, has been well documented as being used as a military tactic to hide troops, weapons and ships (bit.ly/3gQyX9n , here , here). Other videos show similar operations being carried out (here).

The role of smoke screens in combat have been questioned in recent years due advances in technology (here), as well as possible concerns about the environmental impact (here). Research is already underway to find more healthy and environmentally friendly outlets (here , here).

VERDICT

False. The U.S. military footage was captured in 1923 and shows an aircraft creating a “smoke curtain”, which is a well known tactic deployed to cloak weapons, troops and ships.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here.