The climate catastrophe that has struck southern Brazil, killing more than a hundred people, has also spawned a spate of bizarre and baseless conspiracy theories. Several of these have gone viral on social media.
“What’s happening in Rio Grande do Sul is definitely not natural,” one woman said on X. “Let’s open our eyes!” She blamed something called HAARP — the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program — a US project that studies the ionosphere using huge antennas in Alaska.
Other people have posted images of airplanes crisscrossing the skies over Brazil’s hard-hit state of Rio Grande do Sul, saying the trails of condensation left by jets contain toxic chemicals as part of a secret and nefarious governmental programme, orchestrating “planned tragedies” for murky motives.
“What’s happening in Rio Grande do Sul is definitely not natural,” one woman said on X. “Let’s open our eyes!” She blamed something called HAARP — the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program — a US project that studies the ionosphere using huge antennas in Alaska.
Other people have posted images of airplanes crisscrossing the skies over Brazil’s hard-hit state of Rio Grande do Sul, saying the trails of condensation left by jets contain toxic chemicals as part of a secret and nefarious governmental programme, orchestrating “planned tragedies” for murky motives.