Viral NASA Story Gets Science Wrong
Q: Is NASA “spraying Americans with lithium and other chemicals”?
A: No. The space agency uses such materials, which are also used in fireworks, in the upper atmosphere – way above where planes fly. Experts say it’s “extremely unlikely” even “a minute amount” would reach Earth’s surface.
FULL ANSWER
A persisting conspiracy theory of “bio-warfare against the world’s citizenry” has been shared thousands of times on Facebook this month. And while some users on the social media site rightfully flagged it as potentially false, others continued to spread and treat it as fact.
The story — headlined” — claims that “NASA is spraying lithium, a pharmaceutical drug most often used to treat people with manic depression or bi-polar disorder, into our ionosphere.” It was posted on asheepnomore.net and has been published on since at least 2016.
