Herndon, J. M., Hoisington, R. D., & Whiteside, M. (2020). Chemtrails are Not Contrails: Radiometric Evidence. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International.
“Conclusions: the public and the scientific community have been systematically deceived into falsely believing that the pervasive, jet-sprayed ‘chemtrails’ are harmless ice-crystal contrails. we have presented radiometric measurements which unambiguously prove the falsity of that characterization for one specific, but typical instance. we show in a more general framework that the physical manifestations of the aerial trails are inconsistent with ice-crystal contrails, but entirely consistent with aerosol particulate trails.”
Herndon, J. M., Hoisington, R. D., & Whiteside, M.. (2020). Chemtrails are Not Contrails: Radiometric Evidence. Journal of Geography, Environment and Earth Science International
“Aims: concerted efforts are made to deceive the public into falsely believing the jet-emplaced tropospheric aerosol trails, called chemtrails by some, are harmless ice-crystal contrails from aircraft engine exhaust-moisture. our objective is to use radiometric measurements in the range 250-300 nm to show that a typical chemtrail is not a contrail, and to generalize that finding with additional data. methods: we utilized international light technologies ilt950uv spectral radiometer mounted on a meade lxd55 auto guider telescope tripod and mount assembly. results: radiometric solar irradiance spectra data that included the transit of a typical tropospheric aerosol trail between radiometer-sensor and the solar disc showed significant absorption during the transit period. the during-transit absorption is wholly inconsistent with the almost negligible adsorption by ice, but is wholly consistent with absorption by aerosolize particulates, including coal fly ash. this result is consistent with other aerosol-trail physical phenomena observations. conclusions: the public and the scientific community have been systematically deceived into falsely believing that the pervasive, jet-sprayed ‘chemtrails’ are harmless ice-crystal contrails. we have presented radiometric measurements which unambiguously prove the falsity of that characterization for one specific, but typical instance. we show in a more general framework that the physical manifestations of the aerial trails are inconsistent with ice-crystal contrails, but entirely consistent with aerosol particulate trails. we describe potential reasons for the deception, and cite the extremely adverse consequences of the aerial particulate spraying on human and environmental health. for the sake of life on earth, the modification of the natural environment by aerial particulate spraying and other methodologies must immediately and permanently end.”
Shearer, C., West, M., Caldeira, K., & Davis, S. J.. (2016). Quantifying expert consensus against the existence of a secret, large-scale atmospheric spraying program. Environmental Research Letters, 11(8), 084011.
“Nearly 17% of people in an international survey said they believed the existence of a secret large-scale atmospheric program (slap) to be true or partly true. slap is commonly referred to as ‘chemtrails’ or ‘covert geoengineering’, and has led to a number of websites purported to show evidence of widespread chemical spraying linked to negative impacts on human health and the environment. to address these claims, we surveyed two groups of experts – atmospheric chemists with expertize in condensation trails and geochemists working on atmospheric deposition of dust and pollution – to scientifically evaluate for the first time the claims of slap theorists. results show that 76 of the 77 scientists (98.7%) that took part in this study said they had not encountered evidence of a slap, and that the data cited as evidence could be explained through other factors, including well-understood physics and chemistry associated with aircraft contrails and atmospheric aerosols. our goal is not to sway those already convinced that there is a secret, large-scale spraying program – who often reject counter-evidence as further proof of their theories – but rather to establish a source of objective science that can inform public discourse.”
Xiao, S., Cheshire, C., & Bruckman, A.. (2021). Sensemaking and the Chemtrail Conspiracy on the Internet: Insights from Believers and Ex-believers. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
“How do people come to believe conspiracy theories, and what role does the internet play in this process as a socio-technical system? we explore these questions by examining online participants in the ‘chemtrails’conspiracy, the idea that visible condensation trails behind airliners are deliberately sprayed for nefarious purposes. we apply weick’s theory of sensemaking to examine the role of people’s frames (beliefs and worldviews), as well as the socio-technical contexts (social interactions and technological affordances) for processing informational cues about the conspiracy. through an analysis of in-depth interviews with thirteen believers and seven ex-believers, we find that many people become curious about chemtrails after consuming rich online media, and they later find welcoming online communities to support shared beliefs and worldviews. we discuss how the socio-technical context of the internet may inadvertently trap people in a perpetual state of ambiguity that becomes reinforced through a collective sensemaking process. in addition, we show how the conspiracy offers a way for believers to express their dissatisfaction with authority, enjoy a sense of community, and find some entertainment along the way. finally, we discuss how people’s frames and the various socio-technical contexts of the internet are important in the sensemaking of debunking evidence, and how such factors may function in the rejection of conspiratorial beliefs.”
Tingley, D., & Wagner, G.. (2017). Solar geoengineering and the chemtrails conspiracy on social media. Palgrave Communications
“Discourse on social media of solar geoengineering has been rapidly increasing over the past decade, in line with increased attention by the scientific community and low but increasing awareness among the general public. the topic has also found increased attention online. but unlike scientific discourse, a majority of online discussion focuses on the so-called chemtrails conspiracy theory, the widely debunked idea that airplanes are spraying a toxic mix of chemicals through contrails, with supposed goals ranging from weather to mind control. this paper presents the results of a nationally representative 1000-subject poll part of the 36,000-subject 2016 cooperative congressional election study (cces), and an analysis of the universe of social media mentions of geoengineering. the former shows ~ 10% of americans declaring the chemtrails conspiracy as ‘completely’ and a further ~ 20-30% as ‘somewhat’ true, with no apparent difference by party affiliation or strength of partisanship. conspiratorial views have accounted for ~ 60% of geoengineering discourse on social media over the past decade. of that, twitter has accounted for >90%, compared to ~ 75% of total geoengineering mentions. further affinity analysis reveals a broad online community of conspiracy. anonymity of social media appears to help its spread, so does the general ease of spreading unverified or outright false information. online behavior has important real-world reverberations, with implications for climate science communication and policy.”
Bessi, A., Coletto, M., Davidescu, G. A., Scala, A., Caldarelli, G., & Quattrociocchi, W.. (2015). Science vs conspiracy: Collective narratives in the age of misinformation. PLoS ONE
“The large availability of user provided contents on online social media facilitates people aggregation around shared beliefs, interests, worldviews and narratives. in spite of the enthusiastic rhetoric about the so called collective intelligence unsubstantiated rumors and conspiracy theories – e.g., chemtrails, reptilians or the illuminati – are pervasive in online social networks (osn). in this work we study, on a sample of 1.2 million of individuals, how information related to very distinct narratives-i.e. main stream scientific and conspiracy news – are consumed and shape communities on facebook. our results show that polarized communities emerge around distinct types of contents and usual consumers of conspiracy news result to be more focused and self-contained on their specific contents. to test potential biases induced by the continued exposure to unsubstantiated rumors on users’ content selection, we conclude our analysis measuring how users respond to 4,709 troll information – i.e. parodistic and sarcastic imitation of conspiracy theories. we find that 77.92% of likes and 80.86% of comments are from users usually interacting with conspiracy stories.”
Cairns, R.. (2016). Climates of suspicion: “Chemtrail” conspiracy narratives and the international politics of geoengineering. Geographical Journal
“Concurrent with growing academic and policy interest in ‘geoengineering’ the global climate in response to climate change, a more marginal discourse postulating the existence of a climate control conspiracy is also proliferating on the internet. here, the term ‘chemtrails’ is used interchangeably with the term geoengineering to describe the belief that the persistent contrails left by aeroplanes provide evidence that a secret programme of large-scale weather and climate modification is ongoing. despite recent calls for greater appreciation of the diverse ways in which people conceive of and relate to ideas of climate control, and widespread acknowledgement of the importance of democratic public engagement in governance of geoengineering, the chemtrail conspiracy narrative has received very little attention in academic work to date. this paper builds on work highlighting the instability of the distinction between ‘paranoid’ and ‘normal’ views, and examines the chemtrail conspiracy narrative as a discourse rather than a pathology (either psychological or sociological). the analysis finds that while some elements of the chemtrail narrative do not lend themselves to democratic processes of deliberation, and potential for engagement with more mainstream discourse appears to be low, nevertheless certain elements of the discourse (such as the moral outrage at the idea of powerful elites controlling the climate, or the importance of emotional and spiritual connections to weather and climate) highlight concerns of relevance to mainstream geoengineering debates. furthermore, the pervasive suspicion that characterises the narrative and its reminder of the key role that trust plays in knowledge creation and the justification of beliefs, signals what is likely to be a perennial issue in the emerging international politics of geoengineering.”
Bantimaroudis, P.. (2016). “Chemtrails” in the Sky: Toward a Group-mediated Delusion Theory. Studies in Media and Communication
Llanes Álvarez, C., San Roman Uría, A., Nunes Nancabu, P., Ruiz Gippini, M., López Landeiro, P., & Franco Martín, M. Á.. (2016). Chemtrails: An Overview of The Phenomenon. European Psychiatry
Bantimaroudis, P., Sideri, M., Ballas, D., Panagiotidis, T., & Ziogas, T.. (2020). Conspiracism on social media: An agenda melding of group-mediated deceptions. International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics
“This study examines students’ social media interactions in relation to their subcultural explorations of a conspiratorial nature. a sample of 476 students from four european universities participated in a survey about conspiracy theories in social media group discussions. in the survey, we examined various social and media factors in relation to students’ beliefs in conspiracy theories. the results of this exploratory study reveal that students treat social media as news sources; furthermore, they trust social media more than traditional mass media. the study reveals demographic, personal and technological factors that encourage a mediated conspiratorial discourse.”
