Many think nothing of these unique white trails left in the air as a plane breezes by, but there are some people who consider them to be suspicious. In fact, there is an entire conspiracy theory centered around chemtrails because people believe that they are the sign of something sinister.

In high air humidity, the trails create a visible white vapor that remains in the sky for a period of time. The difference in humidity is why some airplanes produce contrails while others don’t, but conspiracy theorists have other ideas. They believe that chemtrails are the white vapors that linger in the sky because they contain harmful chemicals forcibly sent out by the government.

Some people are under the impression that the government is spraying the population with hazardous chemicals. While the purpose behind the alleged dangerous toxins remains unclear, some people are convinced that chemtrails exist only to cause harm.

Chemtrail conspiracies have even been promoted by select online influencers who boast millions of followers. Chemtrail conspiracy theorists believe that government officials are “dumping poison” from airplanes in a possible attempt to control the population. Believers of this notion say that while contrails quickly dissipate, chemically-induced chemtrails that remain visible must contain other foul substances.

Some say it doesn’t rain because airplanes prevent rainfall and cause drought. And what proof do they base this theory on? According to conspiracy theorists, a sky full of chemtrails is clear evidence that something is amiss. They refuse to back down from promoting this theory, despite having little to no confirmation that their claims are valid.

At first, conspiracy theorists suggested that airplanes were emitting a toxic metal such as barium to reduce the population. As time went on, the ideas behind chemtrails shifted and now there are multiple theories about the real purpose of the white vapor trails that come out of airplanes.

In recent times, some conspiracy theorists have claimed that the white puffs of vapor are actually airborne vaccines sent out by the government, while others have thought that the contrails are even being used to spread a highly contagious strand of COVID-19. Some have fallen even deeper down the rabbit hole of assumption by believing that the contrails can “initiate mind control.”

There are people who are convinced that everything we see and do is being controlled. According to some conspiracy theorists, chemtrails indicate that someone is manipulating the weather from above. They believe that a government agency or some other powerful human force can decide what the weather will do, and they insist that chemtrails are a distinct clue.

Experiments conducted in the 20th century sprayed unsuspecting people with potentially hazardous elements from above. The fact that this really transpired lends credence to the notion that chemtrails could actually be the cause of something more scandalous than just vapors.

Another experiment from 1950 in San Francisco is also commonly brought into question when dealing with the origin of chemtrail conspiracy theories. Smithsonian Magazine reported that a Navy ship “airsprayed (the bacterium) ‘Serratia marcescens’ for six days about two miles off the northern California coast.” With this knowledge, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that a powerful organization would airdrop other materials onto the population.

From the UK, Australia, the United States and beyond, there is international interest in the true meaning of contrails. There is special interest in any areas where commercial or military planes fly over. A handful of celebrities and influencers have globbed onto this train of thought, shining an even bigger spotlight on the issue at hand.

This makes their claims look baseless and uneducated, even though history has proven that organizations have in fact dropped airborne materials onto the population in the past. The British Airline Pilots Association has said that the countless theories have “no evidential basis” while vowing to look into the effect contrails have on the environment.