Spreading Conspiracy Theories Isn't The Same Thing As Spreading Gossip— It's Far More Destructive

Northwest Georgia Voters Should Be Ashamed Of Themselves

Yenta is a Yiddish word commonly used to describe a gossip and a busybody. Like almost everyone, Jews love to gossip. What Jews don’t love, though, are conspiracy theories. Jews often have a deep historical aversion to conspiracy theories because such bullshit has, throughout history, frequently been weaponized against them leading to persecution. And it didn’t start with Marjorie Traitor Greene’s “Jewish space lasers.” 

For centuries, Jews have been the targets of dangerous conspiracy theories that falsely blamed them for various societal problems. The most infamous example is the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a fabricated document that claimed Jews were plotting world domination. Published in Russia in the early 20th century, it fueled anti-Semitic sentiment globally and played a role in the rise of Nazi ideology. Even though it has been thoroughly debunked, some fringe groups on the far right continue to believe in it. On top of this Jews have been scapegoated during times of societal unrest— from the Black Death in the 14th century to well poisonings in Nazi Germany. Conspiracy theories accusing Jews of controlling banks, media and global government have perpetuated stereotypes of Jewish manipulation and greed. Obviously, the most devastating consequence of conspiracy theories targeting Jews culminated in the Holocaust. 

Even today, anti-semitic conspiracy theories and tropes are being pushed by right-wing Republicans— like Trump and Traitor Greene— about Jewish control of the global economy, Hollywood and other spheres of influence. The persistence of these ideas, even in mainstream discourse, keeps this fear of conspiracy theories alive among many American Jews.

The new Ipsos poll for Reuters shows Kamala continuing to grow her margin against Señor T— now up 6 points, 46.61% to 40.48%, outside the margin of error. But it’s much, much higher among Jews, including Jews in the swing states. You may recall that between 68% (the Associated Press) and 77% (J Street ) of Jews voted for Biden in 2020. Polling from the Jewish Democratic Council of America, released yesterday, shows Kamala at around 70% among Jews in the battleground states— 72% in the rest belt states (Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) and 68% in the sun belt states (Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina).

Survey of Jewish voters

I can’t imagine there are many Jews— outside of the most primitive Hasidics— who would give two thoughts to the latest crackpot MAGA conspiracy theory about hurricane engineering and directing, which, like the Jewish space lasers, seems to have originated with crazy little Miss Georgia. Fringy Republicans “have spread conspiracy theories online,” reported Wired, “suggesting that Hurricane Milton has been geo-engineered by nefarious forces, with the end goal of preventing Republicans from voting in the presidential election. ‘Milton looks like another man-made storm, and it looks like Trump voters are victims. Is this really what’s happening?’ wrote one user on Twitter. ‘Biden and Harris are messing with the weather! Hurricane Milton was sent to Florida just like the other hurricane to wipe Florida out!! They know those are mostly Trump supporters who live in that state, so 85% of them won’t be able to vote next month,’ wrote another. ‘They want to kill Trump supporters and interfere with the election,’ another user declared.”

The “weather weapon” theory and others began proliferating when Hurricane Helene made landfall nearly two weeks ago, leaving at least 230 dead. And now, some of these wild narratives are not only reverberating on fringe corners of the internet but also are being spread by major accounts— chief among them, GOP congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.

Greene, after spending years trying to distance herself from her infamous 2018 remarks on social media blaming wildfires on “Jewish Space Lasers,” is now using this climate emergency to double down on weather conspiracies and lasers.

While Greene stopped short of blaming Jews for the hurricanes, she has promoted conspiracies that have a history of being steeped in antisemitism. “Yes they can control the weather,” Greene wrote on Twitter on October 3 about the hurricanes, without specifying who “they” are. “It’s ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can’t be done.”

The conspiracy theory that Jews, specifically the Rothschild family, can manipulate world events, including climate and weather events, to their favor, is rooted in centuries of antisemitic scapegoating. The weather conspiracies in particular ramped up significantly after 2011, when a member of the Rothschild family acquired a controlling stake in Weather Central, a company that provides weather data to media companies.

Greene later surfaced a nine-year-old CBS News clip featuring futurist and physicist Michio Kaku discussing experimental lab research into weather modification using lasers. “Lasers,” Greene wrote. “CBS, 9 years ago, talked about lasers controlling the weather.” Right-wing blog The Gateway Pundit, which is known for trafficking in conspiracy theories, gave Greene a major boost on Tuesday with the headline “Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Weather Manipulation Claims Backed by Science— Must Read Deep Dive into History of Weather Manipulation— Shocking Facts Revealed!”

Attempts to politicize Hurricane Milton— which is expected to be a deadly event when it makes landfall Wednesday— are serving as a distraction from dire warnings by local officials. “I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever,” Tampa mayor Jane Castor said on CNN Monday night. “If you choose to stay in those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”

On Monday, amid desperate evacuation warnings, Greene unleashed a hot new take. “Climate change is the new Covid,” she wrote. “Ask your government if the weather is manipulated or controlled. Did you ever give permission to them to do it? Are you paying for it? Of course you are.”

Other recent conspiracy theories that have dominated social media have been directed toward the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a long-standing target of anti-government narratives. Some have falsely claimed that the agency was intentionally withholding relief to punish Trump-supporting enclaves or that the organization had spent all its money on the border and foreign wars.

Those conspiracy theories, parroted by Donald Trump and other high-profile Republicans, have muddied the zone and hampered relief efforts. “The GREAT people of North Carolina are being stood up by Harris and Biden, who are giving almost all of the FEMA money to Illegal Migrants,” Trump wrote in one of many posts shared to Truth Social.

Over the weekend, the White House put out a memo titled “Fighting Hurricane Helene Falsehoods With Facts,” debunking some dominant narratives about FEMA’s relief efforts— stating that, for example, no money had been diverted from disaster response needs toward the border.

“Disinformation of this kind can discourage people from seeking critical assistance when they need it most,” the memo said. "It is paramount that every leader, whatever their political beliefs, stops spreading this poison."

This hasn’t stopped other accounts online from weighing in. Private equity manager Grant Cardone, who holds a yellow-ticked “verified organization” account on Twitter, claimed that he’d never seen a hurricane follow a path like the one Milton was on. (Readers added context, noting that while it’s an uncommon track, it has been seen at least six times in the Gulf of Mexico since 1851). “Do you think Gov’t is using technology to manipulate weather patterns & storms?” Cardone asked in a post that’s been viewed over 5 million times.

“Cloud seeding or manipulating the weather is real,” wrote a user on Twitter in a post that’s been viewed 180,000 times. “Kills Americans, catastrophic events JUST BEFORE AN ELECTION. Voting becomes impossible for many. October surprise??”

Experts tell Wired that there is absolutely no truth to any of these claims that the hurricanes could be engineered by scientists.

Joshua Horton, a senior program fellow studying solar geoengineering at Harvard University, says he has worked in the field of geoengineering for 15 years and had never once encountered lasers being used. Horton noted that in the 1960s, there were attempts to use weather modification to steer hurricanes away from coasts. In perhaps 30 years, he says, solar engineering research may have advanced to the point where scientists could know how to reduce the severity of hurricanes. One theory that’s being explored is whether shooting seaspray into low-lying marine clouds to make them more reflective over areas in the ocean where it gets very hot could potentially reduce the severity of hurricanes. But at this stage, that’s still “totally speculative,” says Horton.

“Scientists cannot control the weather in the ways that MTG is claiming,” says Leah Aronowsky, an assistant professor of climate at Columbia University’s Climate School.

Aronowsky says that the field of geoengineering, which involves intervening in Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and soils to mitigate the effects of climate change, is controversial and worthy of some “real conversations.” But it’s also a field frequently targeted by conspiracy theorists, who envision nefarious actors using emerging complex technology for political means.

Many online conspiracy theorists have zeroed in on the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, known as HAARP, which researches the ionosphere, as the brains behind Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Google Trends shows a sharp uptick in searches for HAARP over the past two weeks.

“Why are record-breaking hurricanes happening back-to-back,” asked one Twitter user in a post that garnered 53,000 views. “Why do they target the regions that resisted lockdowns and vaccines? And why are they mysteriously forming deep within the Caribbean? Shall we talk about HAARP?”

"Do these clouds look natural to you?” reads a post from Alux Jownes Team, a cryptocurrency token based on a Solana blockchain that holds a yellow-ticked “verified organization” account on Twitter. The post garnered nearly 790,000 views.

“Hurricane Milton Harris is what geo engineering looks like,” it continued. “Look up HAARP… They’re using fucking weather weapons on us."

HAARP was initially jointly funded by the US military and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Since 2015, it’s been run and funded solely by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

HAARP did not respond to Wired’s request for comment, but as an FAQ section on its site indicates, it has faced similar conspiracy theories in the past. (Earlier this year, Trump ally Laura Loomer suggested that then-Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and her deep state allies had deployed HAARP to disturb the Iowa caucus.) Among the frequently asked questions are, “Can HAARP exert mind control over people?” (answer: no) and “Can HAARP control or manipulate the weather?” (also no).

“This is all really dangerous, that this is all swirling around at the same time,” says Aronowsky, who is concerned about the effect of further undermining public trust in science, particularly at a moment of national emergency. “It really serves as a dangerous diversionary tactic and starts to make the conversation about political blame rather than the humanitarian crisis that the US is currently facing.”

Florida has 28 members of Congress. 11 of them, all radical right Republicans, voted against FEMA emergency funds last month, including crackpot MAGAt Anna Paulina Luna. Hurricane Milton is zeroing in on her Tampa Bay Area district and she's screeching for the federal funds she opposed. Two other Republicans whose coastal southwest Florida districts could be seriously impacted by Milton, far right nutcases Byron Donalds (Fort Myers, Naples, Cape Coral) and Greg Steube (Sarasota, Punta Gorda)— both bankrolled by the Climate Change-denying fossil fuel industry— are, reported Rolling Stone yesterday, “pushing legislation that would bar the president from declaring a climate emergency. Their legislation, written by Big Oil patsy August Pfluger (R-TX), insists it’s a “false emergency.” Donalds’ and Steube’s districts are under evacuation orders today.

Chuck Edwards, the Republican who beat Madison Cawthorn and represents much of the worst-hit parts of North Carolina decided to rebut Traitor Greene and some of the other sociopaths on his own website on Tuesday: Debunking Helene Response Myths. He began with Traitor Greene’s conspiracy theory: “Hurricane Helene was NOT geoengineered by the government to seize and access lithium deposits in Chimney Rock. Nobody can control the weather. Charles Konrad, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southeast Regional Climate Center, has confirmed that no one has the technology or ability to geoengineer a hurricane… Local officials have confirmed the government is NOT seizing Chimney Rock.”

He then tried to dispel the MAGA propaganda about FEMA that’s poisoning his district: “FEMA is NOT stopping trucks or vehicles with donations, confiscating or seizing supplies, or otherwise turning away donations. FEMA does not conduct vehicle stops or handle road closures with armed guards— all road closures are managed by local law enforcement who are prioritizing getting resources to their fellow community members. FEMA has NOT diverted disaster response funding to the border or foreign aid. Disaster response efforts and individual assistance are funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts… FEMA cannot seize your property or land. Applying for disaster assistance does not grant FEMA or the federal government authority or ownership of your property or land… FEMA is NOT only providing $750 to disaster survivors to support their recovery. The initial $750 provided to disaster survivors is an immediate type of assistance called Serious Needs Assistance that may be made to individuals in need as soon as they apply for FEMA assistance. The $750 is an upfront, flexible payment to help cover essential items like food, water, baby formula and medication while FEMA assesses the applicant’s eligibility for additional funds. This award is just the first step of a longer process to provide financial assistance to disaster survivors in need of federal support. As an application moves through the review process, individuals are eligible to receive additional forms of assistance for other needs such as temporary housing, personal property and home repair costs, etc. I encourage you to remember that everything you see on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media platform is not always fact. Please make sure you are fact checking what you read online with a reputable source.”

And then there was this direct attack on Traitor Greene from a Miami-Dade Republican exasperated by his lunatic colleague: