Fake Snow Conspiracy Theory

About

The Fake Snow Conspiracy Theory refers to a series of unsubstantiated claims that the snowfall in warmer areas results from a government conspiracy. Theorists prove their hypothesis by attempting to melt snowball with a small heat source. When the snow does not melt quickly, they conclude that the snow is fake. Experts have speculated that the black scorch marks seen in the videos are caused by soot residue left by butane lighters.

Origin

In January 2014, videos online purported that snow in various warm cities around the United States would not melt. To prove this, conspiracy theories would attempt to melt a small amount of snow with a lighter. The snow, in many of these videos, would turn black and begin to burn. One of the earliest videos, published on January 30th, 2014 by YouTuber Macanan1 featured an attempt to melt snow in Tennessee. The video received more than 33,000 views in less than eight years (shown below).

Other YouTubers and scientists quickly debunked these videos. That day, WTVR CBS 6 posted a video entitled "'Fake snow' explained: It's called sublimation." The post received more than 317,000 views in less than seven years (shown below).

Spread

Throughout winter 2014, people continued to post YouTube videos that debunked the fake snow theory. On January 31st, 2014, YouTuber Imagination Station Toledo posted a video of an experiment. In the video, participants attempt to burn snow, stating that the snow is melting back into the snowball and refreezing, creating a divet. The post received more than 70,000 views in less than eight years (shown below, left).

Days later, YouTuber TheBadAstronomer published a similar video, coming to similar conclusions. The post received more than 786,000 views in less than eight years (shown below, right).

On February 10th, 2014, fact-checking website Snopes debunked the conspiracy theory. They wrote:

To summarize, two things happen: One is that as the snow melts, the remaining snow absorbs the water. That’s why it doesn’t appear to drip; the snowball becomes a slushball. The black scorch marks are actually from the lighters themselves. Butane is a hydrocarbon, a molecule made up of carbon and hydrogen. When you burn it, the molecule reacts with oxygen in the air, breaking the bonds between atoms, and reforming new molecules. If the burning were perfect, all you’d have left is carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H20).

But the burning is never completely perfect, and you get other stuff too. One thing that happens is that some of the carbon molecules reform into long chains, creating what we call soot. It’s that stuff that’s collecting on the snowball, not material from the snow itself!

Texas Resurgence

In 2021, during a massive Texas snowfall, the conspiracy theory experienced a resurgence, with people posting videos of their attempts to burn snow on TikTok. Hashtags cataloging attempts to burn, such as #burningsnowchallenge, #snowwontmelt and #burningsnow, spread. For example, on February 17th, 2021, TikToker @thismustbedestiny posted a video in which they try to melt the snow with a candle, noting that the snow is not melting (shown below, left).

Following the spread of these videos, people began debunking them once again. On February 18th, TikToker @lil_huey1 posted a video explaining why the snow would not melt. The post received more than 41,000 reactions in less than two weeks (shown below, left). On February 21st, TikToker @weatherkatie posted a debunking video that received more than 201,000 reactions in less than one week (shown below, right).

Media Coverage

Several media outlets reported on the conspiracy theory, including Distractify,^[1] Gizmodo,^[2] NBC,^[3] Reuters,^[4] Insider,^[5] Slate,^[6] Snopes,^[7] CBS,^[8] Popular Mechanics^[9] and more.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References