Internet user dumbfounded after relative shares bizarre weather conspiracy theory: 'The idea seems so ridiculous'

Just when you think you've heard it all, another outlandish conspiracy theory comes along and baffles you.

This happened to a Reddit user in the r/tornado subreddit, who brought up a conversation they had with their cousin about the weather.

The original poster explained that their cousin introduced them to the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program, also known as HAARP. "She is fully convinced that the program has been harnessing the power of weather in an attempt to attack other countries with controlled natural disasters," the OP said.

They continued: "The idea seems so ridiculous but I couldn't help but be drawn to the idea and wanted to know what you guys thought — even if for discussions sake. Obviously I'm skeptical lol BUT do you think we could ever control weather?"

There is no convincing evidence that any organization is doing anything to control the weather in a consistent and effective way, and for HAARP, which is based in Alaska, there is no evidence the research center has ever tried to use its communications devices to affect weather around the world.

The fact-checking team VERIFY worked with WFAA in Dallas to provide a substantial compilation of experts who shut down baseless claims about organizations creating hurricanes or other weather phenomena such as tornadoes.

HAARP uses radio waves to learn more about the ionosphere, which is the part of Earth's atmosphere that meets outer space, and it was founded in part to study radio waves for communication across long distances.

As HAARP says in its FAQ, its radio waves do not affect the troposphere or stratosphere, the two parts of the atmosphere where weather forms.

The radio waves it uses to study the ionosphere are trivial and do not carry much power in relation to the energy already there, HAARP scientists say in the FAQ: "A good analogy to this process is dropping a stone in a fast-moving stream. The ripples caused by the stone are quickly lost in the rapidly moving water and are completely undetectable a little farther downstream. A UAF Geophysical Institute scientist compared HAARP to putting an 'immersion heater in the Yukon River.'"

Several Redditors weighed in on the discussion with their thoughts.

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"There is so much energy contained within powerful weather systems (such as hurricanes) that what we as an entire species produces pales in comparison," one user said. "… It's like swatting a 1950s Buick with a fly."

"The atmosphere is an incredibly complex system. We barely know enough to predict weather patterns, let alone control anything," another Redditor chimed in.

The thread's mod succinctly answered, "Yeah no."

It may seem silly at first to consider ideas such as this. But learning about the psychology of conspiracy theories and why people are drawn to them can help us have conversations with our loved ones and combat misinformation. 

While every conversation may not blossom, some will be fruitful, and talking with the people around you about the climate is one of the best things you could possibly do for our Earth.

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