Fact check: Mexico is banning solar geoengineering, not 'chemtrails'

The claim: Mexico is banning solar geoengineering, chemtrails

A Jan. 19 Instagram video (direct link, archive link) connects the Mexican government's recent prohibition of solar geoengineering – or technologies used to reflect sunlight back to space – with a decades-old conspiracy theory.

"Mexico is banning chemtrails," reads the text overlaid on top of the video. 

The post received nearly 1,500 likes in six weeks. 

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: Partly false

Solar geoengineering and chemtrails are not the same. The government of Mexico has not outlawed so-called "chemtrails," which experts say do not exist. In January, the government announced a ban on solar geoengineering, citing both regulatory and environmental concerns.

Solar geoengineering does not include 'chemtrails'

On Jan. 13, the Mexican government issued a press release stating the country would "prohibit and, where appropriate, stop experimentation practices with solar geoengineering in the country."

Solar geoengineering is a controversial practice meant to combat rising global temperatures by reflecting sunlight away from the Earth. It typically involves releasing aerosols into the atmosphere or injecting them into clouds, CNBC reported. 

Solar geoengineering does not include the white trails left by airplanes in the sky, sometimes referred to as "chemtrails" by conspiracy theorists.

Those trails, actually called contrails, are made up of frozen water vapor – not harmful chemicals secretly added by the government or other nefarious actors, as USA TODAY previously reported in debunking this conspiracy theory.

USA TODAY has debunked a variety of false claims about chemtrails, including the incorrect assertion that they contribute to severe weather and the erroneous claim that they increase respiratory illnesses.

USA TODAY was unable to reach the user who shared the post for comment.

Our fact-check sources:

• Government of Mexico, Jan. 13, Experimentation with solar geoengineering will not be allowed in Mexico | Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources
• Harvard University, accessed March 2, Chemtrails Conspiracy Theory | The Keith Group
• NBC News, Jan. 19, Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering, forcing startup to pause operations
• USA TODAY, Feb. 28, Fact check: False claim geoengineering is behind climate change

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.

Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.