Prof. RNDr. Vanda Boštíková, Ph.D. Prof. RNDr. Aleš Macela, DrSc.
Many natural phenomena have long been shrouded in mystery for mankind. Antiquity built gods around them, dedicated all sorts of rituals and mysteries to them. Although we live in the 21st century, and science has taken our knowledge to a completely different level, there are people capable of seeing all sorts of absurdities in the background of natural phenomena.
It is especially natural disasters that are relatively often explained irrationally. One of the widespread conspiracy theories that emerges, especially after devastating earthquakes, is the claim that these events are not of natural origin but are deliberately triggered by weapons (underground nuclear explosions or electromagnetic waves) and are often attributed to the HAARP (High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) project. HAARP is also claimed among conspirators to be used to control the weather in terms of hurricane activation or climate disruption (inducing extreme drought waves).
Disinformationists repeatedly come up with claims that world powers, usually the United States being mentioned first, have the ability to manipulate the Earth’s crust (lithosphere) and trigger earthquakes in target countries as a form of “invisible warfare”.
HAARP is a research project, founded in 1993, in Alaska. It was originally administered by the U.S. Army and later administered by the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USA. The project investigates the ionosphere (the layer of the atmosphere at an altitude of 60 – 1000 km) and its influence on communication and navigation (GPS, satellite signals, radio communication). It studies phenomena such as auroras and solar flares. It is not a secret weapon – the technologies and equipment involved do not have the physical capacity to affect the planet’s lithosphere.
Türkiye earthquake
After the devastating magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southeastern Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and northern Syria in February 2023, videos showing flashes in the sky just before the tremors went viral on social media. These videos were used as “proof” that this was an artificially induced disaster. Claims that ‘Western forces’ were behind the earthquake in retaliation for Turkey’s geopolitical stance were made on platforms such as TikTok, X and YouTube. The influential Turkish influencer Ahmet Mahmut Ünlü (1), for example, has expressed himself in this sense. In the world of exact science, there is no evidence that man is capable of producing tectonic tremors of the depth and magnitude of the earthquake in Turkey (epicenter at a depth of about 18 km).
The flashes that people have observed in the sky are a well-known phenomenon called “earthquake lights” – a rare but natural electrostatic discharge associated with voltage in the lithosphere (2). The spread of misinformation theories of this type distracts attention from the real causes of disasters, complicates rescue operations and can hinder international aid. It also reinforces geopolitical tensions and fuels mistrust of responsible institutions and science. In an environment of high emotional stress such as natural disasters, these conspiracy theories are very active – they give people the opportunity to point the finger of blame, but they are highly irrational and out of touch with objective reality. We have also addressed similar claims about earthquakes as secret weapons in the case of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.
Czech sentiment
As part of the CEDMO Trends project, we regularly monitor the reach and credibility of specific disinformation narratives. In December 2024, we tested, among others, the claim that devastating floods in Spain’s Valencia province at the end of October were caused by weather-manipulation vessels. These ships were allegedly operating near Valencia and were said to be part of the American research program HAARP. This narrative was the least recognized among all those tested at the time (7%) and was also considered the least credible—only 12% of respondents deemed it trustworthy.
This was not the first time we examined disinformation linked to the HAARP program. At the beginning of our research, specifically in March and subsequently in April 2023, we focused on similar claims. In March, we tested a narrative suggesting that the destructive earthquake in early February was not a natural phenomenon but the result of a secret American weapon—HAARP. According to this theory, remote electromagnetic attacks were intended to undermine the authority of Turkish President Erdoğan due to his opposition to Sweden’s accession to NATO. Only 11% of respondents found this narrative credible, making it the least trusted of all those tested in that round.
In April 2023, we examined another narrative claiming that several Western countries—such as Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, and France—withdrew their ambassadors from Turkey shortly before the earthquake struck on February 6. This was allegedly further evidence that the HAARP program was behind the disaster. Fourteen percent of respondents considered this narrative credible, but even so, it ranked last in its wave of testing.
Overall, we can conclude that disinformation narratives related to the HAARP program are perceived as highly untrustworthy among CEDMO Trends respondents.
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