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Eight US states seek to outlaw chemtrails – even though they aren’t real (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 17 hours ago by abacabadabacaba@infosec.pub to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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[–] TinyLittlePuni@lemmy.world 9 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

It seems fairly obvious based on other articles talking about this that the legislation originates from chemtrail conspiracy theories and not actual geoengineering. I will quote some parts

Louisiana Rep. Kimberly Landry Coates stood before her colleagues in the state’s Legislature she warned that the bill she was presenting might “seem strange” or even crazy.

Coates described situations that are often noted in discussions of “chemtrails”

As she urged lawmakers to ban the unsubstantiated practice, she told skeptics to “start looking up” at the sky.

“I’m really worried about what is going on above us and what is happening, and we as Louisiana citizens did not give anyone the right to do this above us

Such bills being crafted is indicative of how misinformation is moving beyond the online world and into public policy.

Chemtrail believers often call chemtrails "geoengineering" as a means of giving their conspiracy theories some credibility. That's not to say geoengineering isn't real. I'm saying it's a term that conspiracy theorists have appropriated to talk about chemtrails without actually mentioning the word chemtrails

[–] surph_ninja@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Yes, they’re definitely playing on those conspiracies to drum up support for this. But regardless of what fears they’re playing in to for pushing the bill through, it doesn’t change the fact that the language in the bill is specific to geoengineering, which is absolutely a real thing and something already being done by companies with little to no oversight.

You and the author are not in a position to criticize the republicans grasping onto conspiracy theories to get public opposition to geoengineering, as you’re playing on the same conspiracy from the opposition angle to dismiss the legislation as not affecting a real thing, which is also a lie.

They are being dishonest to push the bill. You are being dishonest in your opposition of it. You both suck.

[–] Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

Conspiracies tend to have a grain of truth, that gets exaggerated to allow the idea to be ridiculed.