Why the chemtrail conspiracy theory lingers and grows – and why Tucker Carlson is talking about it

Calum Lister Matheson, University of Pittsburgh Everyone has looked up at the clouds and seen faces, animals, objects. Human brains are hardwired for this kind of whimsy. But some people – perhaps a surprising number – look to the sky and see government plots and wicked deeds written there. Conspiracy theorists say that contrails – long streaks of condensation left by aircraft – are actually chemtrails, clouds of chemical or biological agents dumped on the unsuspecting public for nefarious purposes. Different motives are ascribed, from weather control to mass poisoning. The chemtrails theory has circulated since 1996, when conspiracy theorists misinterpreted a U.S. Air Force research paper about weather modification, a valid topic of research. Social media and conservative news outlets have since magnified the conspiracy theory. One recent study notes that X, formerly Twitter, is a particularly active node of this “broad online community of conspiracy.” I’m a communications researcher who studies conspiracy theories. The thoroughly debunked chemtrails theory provides a textbook example of how conspiracy theories work.

Boosted into the stratosphere

Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson, whose podcast averages over a million viewers per episode, recently interviewed Dane Wigington, a longtime opponent of what he calls “geoengineering.” While the interview has been extensively discredited and mocked in other media coverage, it is only one example of the spike in chemtrail belief. Although chemtrail belief spans the political spectrum, it is particularly evident in Republican circles. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has professed his support for the theory. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has written legislation to ban chemical weather control, and many state legislatures have done the same. Online influencers with millions of followers have promoted what was once a fringe theory to a large audience. It finds a ready audience among climate change deniers and anti-deep state agitators who fear government mind control.

Heads I win, tails you lose

Although research on weather modification is real, the overwhelming majority of qualified experts deny that the chemtrail theory has any solid basis in fact. For example, geoengineering researcher David Keith’s lab posted a blunt statement on its website. A wealth of other resources exist online, and many of their conclusions are posted at contrailscience.com. But even without a deep dive into the science, the chemtrail theory has glaring logical problems. Two of them are falsifiability and parsimony.

According to psychologist Rob Brotherton, conspiracy theories have a classic “heads I win, tails you lose” structure. Conspiracy theorists say that chemtrails are part of a nefarious government plot, but its existence has been covered up by the same villains. If there was any evidence that weather modification was actually happening, that would support the theory, but any evidence denying chemtrails also supports the theory – specifically, the part that alleges a cover-up. People who subscribe to the conspiracy theory consider anyone who confirms it to be a brave whistleblower and anyone who denies it to be foolish, evil or paid off. Therefore, no amount of information could even hypothetically disprove it for true believers. This denial makes the theory nonfalsifiable, meaning it’s impossible to disprove. By contrast, good theories are not false, but they must also be constructed in such a way that if they were false, evidence could show that. Nonfalsifiable theories are inherently suspect because they exist in a closed loop of self-confirmation. In practice, theories are not usually declared “false” based on a single test but are taken more or less seriously based on the preponderance of good evidence and scientific consensus. This approach is important because conspiracy theories and disinformation often claim to falsify mainstream theories, or at least exploit a poor understanding of what certainty means in scientific methods. Like most conspiracy theories, the chemtrail story tends not to meet the criteria of parsimony, also known as Occam’s razor, which suggests that the more suppositions a theory requires to be true, the less likely it actually is. While not perfect, this concept can be an important way to think about probability when it comes to conspiracy theories. Is it more likely that the government is covering up a massive weather program, mind-control program or both that involve thousands or millions of silent, complicit agents, from the local weather reporter to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, or that we’re seeing ice crystals from plane engines? Of course, calling something a “conspiracy theory” does not automatically invalidate it. After all, real conspiracies do exist. But it’s important to remember scientist and science communicator Carl Sagan’s adage that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” In the case of chemtrails, the evidence just isn’t there.

Psychology of conspiracy theory belief

If the evidence against it is so powerful and the logic is so weak, why do people believe the chemtrail conspiracy theory? As I have argued in my new book, “Post-Weird: Fragmentation, Community, and the Decline of the Mainstream,” conspiracy theorists create bonds with each other through shared practices of interpreting the world, seeing every detail and scrap of evidence as unshakable signs of a larger, hidden meaning. Uncertainty, ambiguity and chaos can be overwhelming. Conspiracy theories are symptoms, ad hoc attempts to deal with the anxiety caused by feelings of powerlessness in a chaotic and complicated world where awful things like tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires can happen seemingly at random for reasons that even well-informed people struggle to understand. When people feel overwhelmed and helpless, they create fantasies that give an illusion of mastery and control. Although there are liberal chemtrail believers, aversion to uncertainty might explain why the theory has become so popular with Carlson’s audience: Researchers have long argued that authoritarian, right-wing beliefs have a similar underlying structure. On some level, chemtrail theorists would rather be targets of an evil conspiracy than face the limits of their knowledge and power, even though conspiracy beliefs are not completely satisfying. Sigmund Freud described a fort-da (“gone-here”) game played by his grandson where he threw away a toy and dragged it back on a string, something Freud interpreted as a simulation of control when the child had none. Conspiracy theories may serve a similar purpose, allowing their believers to feel that the world isn’t really random and that they, the ones who see through the charade, really have some control over it. The grander the conspiracy, the more brilliant and heroic the conspiracy theorists must be. Conspiracies are dramatic and exciting, with clear lines of good and evil, whereas real life is boring and sometimes scary. The chemtrail theory is ultimately prideful. It’s a way for theorists to feel powerful and smart when they face things beyond their comprehension and control. Conspiracy theories come and go, but responding to them in the long term means finding better ways to embrace uncertainty, ambiguity and our own limits alongside a new embrace of the tools we do have: logic, evidence and even humility. Calum Lister Matheson, Associate Professor of Communication, University of Pittsburgh This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Last Updated on October 6, 2025 by Daily News Staff

When Travis Walton vanished from an Arizona forest in 1975, the world was stunned. His story of being struck by a beam of light from a UFO and later reappearing after five days became one of the most famous alien abduction cases in history. Nearly two decades later, Hollywood brought his story to the big screen in the 1993 film Fire in the Sky.

But how much of the movie matched Walton’s actual testimony?

The Real Testimony: Travis Walton’s Experience

In Walton’s own words, detailed in his book The Walton Experience:

He and six coworkers saw a glowing disc-shaped UFO while driving through the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. Walton approached and was struck by a beam of light, vanishing before their eyes. He later recalled waking inside a clean, metallic room. He first encountered short, large-eyed beings — similar to the classic “greys.” After panicking, he was met by taller, human-like beings who guided him silently through the craft. He blacked out again and awoke days later on the roadside as the UFO departed.

Walton’s description was eerie and confusing, but not grotesque.

The Hollywood Version: Fire in the Sky (1993)

The film’s abduction sequence became infamous for its nightmarish visuals:

Walton awakens in a slimy cocoon-like environment, unlike the clean metallic room he described. He discovers corpses wrapped in membranes — a pure Hollywood invention. The aliens are depicted as grotesque, insect-like creatures rather than the greys or human-like beings Walton reported. Walton is violently restrained on a table while aliens perform invasive procedures, including a chilling needle-to-the-eye scene.

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The movie leaned heavily into horror, turning Walton’s mysterious account into a terrifying cinematic ordeal.

What Was Real vs. Fiction

Accurate in the Film:

Walton struck by a beam of light and vanishing. His coworkers sticking to their story and passing polygraphs. Walton reappearing days later, shaken and disoriented.

Invented for Hollywood:

Cocoon-like interiors and human corpses. Alien torture and invasive experiments. Insect-like, monstrous alien designs. The extreme horror atmosphere.

Walton’s View

Travis Walton himself has stated that while Fire in the Sky captured the drama of his disappearance, it distorted the abduction itself. He called the film’s alien sequence “Hollywood horror” and emphasized that his real experience, though frightening, was not sadistic or grotesque.

The Lasting Legacy

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Today, the Travis Walton UFO incident remains one of the most debated abduction cases ever. Fire in the Sky introduced the story to millions but also blurred the line between fact and fiction. For Walton, the truth was strange enough — and far less like a nightmare than Hollywood imagined.

🔗 Related External Reading

• Travis Walton UFO Incident – Wikipedia

• Interview with Travis Walton – Coast to Coast AM

• The Walton Experience Book on Amazon

• Fire in the Sky (1993) – IMDb

• Skeptical Inquirer: The Travis Walton Abduction Revisited (searchable article, skeptical perspective)

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Last Updated on October 6, 2025 by Daily News Staff

A mysterious object from beyond our solar system is putting on a show for astronomers. Known as 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1), the comet is only the third confirmed interstellar visitor ever detected, following 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. New observations reveal that 3I/ATLAS is not only larger than expected but also behaving in ways unlike most comets we’ve seen before.

A Growing Tail and Unusual Glow

Recent telescope images show that 3I/ATLAS has developed a striking tail, extending outward as solar radiation triggers jets of gas and dust from its icy surface. Astronomers report that the comet’s coma—the hazy envelope around its nucleus—has grown brighter and more expansive in just the past few weeks.

Adding to the intrigue, observers recently captured the comet glowing green during a lunar eclipse. This emerald color is believed to come from volatile molecules such as diatomic carbon or cyanogen, which fluoresce under solar radiation. Interestingly, earlier images suggested a reddish hue, indicating that the comet may be undergoing chemical shifts as it warms.

Heavyweight Among Interstellar Wanderers

Early estimates suggest 3I/ATLAS may be far more massive than its interstellar predecessors. Some studies put its mass above 33 billion tons, making it several times larger than 2I/Borisov. The nucleus itself remains difficult to measure directly, since much of its brightness is clouded by dust and gas, but scientists agree that this is a substantial object—one of the biggest confirmed interstellar visitors yet.

A Comet Rich in Carbon Dioxide

Another surprising feature is its chemical makeup. Data from multiple telescopes, including NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and upcoming observations with the James Webb Space Telescope, indicate that 3I/ATLAS contains an unusually high amount of carbon dioxide compared to most comets in our own solar system. This suggests it may have formed in a colder, more distant region around another star, preserving volatile ices that are rare closer to the Sun.

Mars Gets a Close Encounter

On October 3, 2025, 3I/ATLAS will make a close pass by Mars. While it will still be far from Earth—never approaching closer than 170 million miles—it will pass within observing range of the European Space Agency’s orbiters at the Red Planet. Mars Express and the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter are both preparing to capture images and data from this historic flyby, offering humanity a rare interplanetary perspective on an interstellar object.

What We Still Don’t Know

3I/ATLAS will reach its closest approach to the Sun on October 30, 2025, before swinging back into interstellar space. It will then slip behind the Sun from Earth’s view, making direct observations difficult until December. Even with multiple powerful telescopes watching, astronomers still face big questions:

• How large is the nucleus compared to the surrounding coma?
• What explains its unusual chemistry and shifting colors?
• Where in the galaxy did it originate before being ejected into interstellar space?

For now, scientists are treating it as a comet, though its mass, color shifts, and chemical richness continue to challenge expectations.

A Rare Opportunity

With only two other interstellar objects ever observed, each discovery gives astronomers a fleeting chance to study materials from another star system without leaving our own. 3I/ATLAS may help answer questions about how planets and comets form across the galaxy—and whether interstellar wanderers like this one could have once seeded worlds, including Earth, with the building blocks of life.

As it streaks past Mars and toward the Sun, 3I/ATLAS is reminding us just how much remains unknown about the universe beyond our stellar neighborhood.

🔗 Related Resources on 3I/ATLAS

• NASA – Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Overview
• AP News – Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Swings Past Mars as Spacecraft Look On
• Space.com – Scientists Capture 3I/ATLAS Growing a Tail
• The Planetary Society – What We Know About Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS
• IFL Science – Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Measured to be Over 33 Billion Tons
• CBS News – Telescope Captures Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
• ScienceAlert – 3I/ATLAS is Bizarre, Say 4 Powerful Telescopes
• Sky at Night Magazine – Comet 3I/ATLAS Observed by Spacecraft

🔗 Related STM Daily News Articles

• A New Interstellar Visitor: Meet 3I/ATLAS, the Third Object from Beyond Our Solar System
• 3I/ATLAS (Tag Archive)
• Comet Discovery (Tag Archive)
• Interstellar Comet (Tag Archive)
• ʻOumuamua (Related Coverage)