Fake snow? Conspiracy theories claim Texas frozen due to 'manipulated' weather

Viral videos arecirculating on social media, claiming that the devastating snow in the Texas storm was “fake” or “created by the government”.

People are burning snow in the US toprove that the snow is fake.Thousands have embarked on this mission.Snowballs are being lit one after another withith zero regards for science orsublimation.

A now-deletedTikTokvideo, which has been viewed over 854,500 times, claimed Bill Gates was responsible for the 'scorched snow’.

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Bill Gates was also blamed for the coronavirus pandemic by several conspiracy theories who also claimed that heinserted chips into the vaccines.

Another TikTok video claimed that China sent fake snow to the US toprove global warming is real.

When fire hits the snowball, thesnow turns from solid to gas, that is, it disappears.Most iterations also point out that thepurported fakesnow“burns”,because thelighter leaves a“scorch”markonthesnowballs.

However, the markingsand the smellresultfrom the burning butane, which is a colourless gas usually used as fuel in lighters that has a “faint petroleum-like odour”.Butane, found in the lighters,isa hydrocarbon-amoleculewhich ispartcarbon andparthydrogen.

The reaction of barium hydroxide and ammonium chloride,which is often used as an example of endothermic reactionsdoes produce a snow-likewhite powdermaterial.

The substances used are toxic and used in small quantities; ammonia gas which can be produced during the experiment, is alsoanirritant.Similar conspiracy theories about alleged “synthetic” snow have been debunked in the past.

On several occasions in the past, President Biden has used the phrase “dark winter” to refer to the impact of COVID-19 during the cold season, when infectious diseases like influenza, traditionally peak as the bad weather drives people inside.

Biden and health experts have used this terminology not to predict the Texas winter storm as the post suggests, but to address an increase in contagion and death toll from COVID-19 over the winter months before vaccines became widely available.

Verdict

There is no evidence the snow in Texas’ is “fake” or “created by the government”. Viral videos claiming that the snow “is not melting” and that it’s “burning” instead, show a common phenomenon that has been explained in the past.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said an Arctic air mass spread southward, well beyond areas accustomed to freezing weather, with winter storm warnings posted for most of the Gulf Coast region, Oklahoma and Missouri.

As explained by NASA’s Earth Observatory, the cold wind from the Artic, which moved in on February13, hit Texas particularly hard, leaving southern areas of the state experiencing colder temperatures than parts of Alaska.