“fake snow” in Texas: TikTok users spread conspiracy theory
In TikTok videos that have gone viral in recent days, users claim that the snow under which Texas was buried last week is fake and in fact created by the US government.
The American state of Texas has been plagued by extreme winter weather over the past week, accompanied by extraordinary freezing temperatures and a good dose of snow. As a result, millions of people were left without power and running water.
Last weekend, President Biden declared a state of emergency.
But that snow is not real, several TikTokkers now claim. To back up their claim, they try to melt snow with a lighter, match, or hairdryer in homemade videos, only to find that the snowball seems to burn or get smaller without melting into water in some videos.
This, they say, indicates that the snow is fake and has been manufactured by the government. The videos are eagerly shared under the hashtag #governmentsnow, and the hashtag has already been viewed more than a million times. Most of the videos are from Texas, although some were also made in the UK.
However, there is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon: through a process known as sublimation or volatilization, the solid snow turns directly into a gas instead of water as a result of the heat.
@sarahmojo Someone said do it with a blow dryer #fyp #snowwontmelt #whatshappening #texasblizzard #centraltexas #conspiracytheories #helpmeunderstand
♬ original sound – Sarah
This is not the first time such a conspiracy theory about snowstorms has spread in the US. Similar reports went viral in 2014 as well.
Moreover, the conspiracy theory is also spreading through other platforms. For example, “fake snow” was googled extensively last week in relation to Texas’s events.
Some claim that President Biden is somehow responsible for the snowstorm, others point to Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The reason? Gates has given financial support to Scopex, a Harvard University climate project that is experimenting with ways to dim sunlight in an attempt to counteract the effects of climate change.
Gates’ contribution is a hot topic in conspiracy circles, although the real Scopex experiment has not yet begun. According to some off-the-cuff claims, the Microsoft founder is often the butt of conspiracy theories: according to some off-the-cuff claims, he is also responsible for the corona pandemic because he wants to implant a microchip in everyone in the world via the vaccine.
