In times of complex situations such as pandemics or natural disasters, certain individuals or groups tend to capitalize on the opportunity to create and spread conspiracy theories. People often employ these theories to rationalize inexplicable occurrences or provoke reactions and engagement from other users.
Following the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, internet users have shared images purporting to show a “HAARP-made cloud over Turkey just before the earthquake.”
Other internet users posted a video of the cloud and claimed Turkey was attacked with HAARP.
Other users have circulated a video featuring another cloud. According to the claims, it was the “Second one filmed over Turkey.”
A Twitter user wrote: “They are definitely using something!”
What Is HAARP?
The HAARP technology is a former U.S. military program called High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program. According to the HAARP official website, the research facility’s operation was transferred from the U.S. Air Force to the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
This technology aims to study the properties and behavior of the ionosphere. According to NASA, “The ionosphere stretches roughly 50 to 400 miles above Earth's surface, right at the edge of space. Along with the neutral upper atmosphere, the ionosphere forms the boundary between Earth's lower atmosphere and the vacuum of space.”
However, this technology cannot manipulate the weather or trigger earthquakes. The HAARP waves can only penetrate less than 1cm into the ground, unlike natural disasters and earthquakes that are much deeper.
What Is the Story Behind the Peculiar Cloud Formation?
The BBC reported on January 20 that a rare cloud formation, creating an “optical illusion tricking viewers into thinking it looks like a UFO,” was spotted in Turkey.
According to the report, “the wave-like pattern is known as a lenticular cloud.”
A lenticular cloud is a lens-shaped orographic wave cloud formed when “the air is stable, and winds blow across hills and mountains from the same or similar direction at different heights through the troposphere.” Moreover, this cloud formation has nothing to do with HAARP technology.
Source: Spectrum News 1.
The Recent Syria-Turkey Earthquake
These conspiracy theories surfaced after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria last week. The death toll from the disaster has surpassed 37.000.
The Turkish authorities said 31,974 people were killed in the country. Meanwhile, more than 5,800 people are dead in Syria, according to the U.N. and the Syrian government.
The World Health Organization described the earthquake as the worst natural disaster in a century.
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