Entering the fray of conspiracy theories can be met with vitriol, making the r/NoStupidQuestions community on Reddit the perfect safe place to seek answers about the divisive topic.
"Someone I know posted 'The Hurricanes in NC were an inside job' and the responses were overwhelmingly agreeing with them and lots of references to cloud seeding, weather control, etc," a person posted before asking, "How does someone come to believe something like this?"
Despite their openness and skepticism of authority, the original poster was perplexed as to why someone would jump to these conclusions, especially since natural disasters have always been around and the effects of rising temperatures on weather patterns have long been proven.
"I just don't understand how that many people that I know (hundreds on this post) really agree with this," they added.
A few commenters theorized that the chaos that hurricanes and other extreme weather events bring can be difficult to rationalize, making it simpler — and perhaps even more comforting — to pick a person or entity to blame. Others chalked it up to confirmation bias or the politicized nature of climate change.
Regardless, misleading and false narratives have run rampant following the destruction caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Many claimed the government manipulated the weather using cloud seeding or other geoengineering tactics, whether to target Republican voters or for some other dubious purpose.
Meteorologists and climate experts have had to continually debunk these theories, as the rhetoric not only delays aid to those in need but also detracts from the real issues at hand.
Earth's overheating has increased the severity and frequency of extreme weather events, and placing the blame on "them" or some imaginary shadow government instead of taking action ultimately does no good.
Redditors were equally as bewildered as the OP, with some trying their best to explain the situation.
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"If weather could be controlled like this it would not have happened!" one user pointed out.
"If someone has been groomed to believe outlandish theories without any proof, to believe that the word of a random person online is just as valid as the consensus of worldwide experts, then it's really easy to convince them of brand new fictions," another explained.
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