U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol Building on May 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. During the news conference Greene announced that she would be filing articles of impeachment against U.S. President J … (Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Former President Donald Trump wasn't the only person President Joe Biden criticized during a White House briefing on Wednesday.
RELATED: Biden to Trump: 'Get a life, man,' and stop spreading hurricane misinformation
Biden also took aim at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for claiming the federal government controls the weather.
"Marjorie Taylor Greene, the congresswoman from Georgia, is now saying the federal government is literally controlling the weather, we’re controlling the weather. It’s beyond ridiculous. It’s so stupid. It’s got to stop," Biden said during televised remarks at the White House.
Biden added that Greene's conspiracy theory was part of the "reckless, irresponsible, and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies" seen in recent weeks.
RELATED: FEMA chief blasts false claims about Helene response: ‘Truly dangerous narrative’
Last week, Greene posted on X that "they can control the weather. It's ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can't be done". Despite receiving many critical responses, she doubled down on the claim, stating that humans can modify the weather and pointing out that the NOAA has a library catalog of 1,026 entries on weather modifications, adding, "that's not all of them".
She also cited an article from The Gateway Pundit, a far-right website known for spreading conspiracy theories, in support of her claims.
According to Politifact, which spoke with Professor Bart Geerts from the University of Wyoming's Department of Atmospheric Science, there is no evidence that Hurricane Helene was formed through weather modification.
Monica Allen, director of public affairs for NOAA's Research division, also told Politifact, "NOAA confirms that there are no weather modification activities that could have resulted in Hurricane Helene. Hurricanes form on their own given the right conditions, and that was the case with Helene."
Greene is not the first to make such claims. Others have alleged that the government or unnamed actors are artificially creating large-scale, destructive weather events by aerosolizing the sky with nanoparticles and ionizing the atmosphere. However, scientists and pilots say there is no evidence that planes are spraying harmful chemicals into the atmosphere that could form a hurricane. Researchers at the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) also state that the technology to manipulate the weather on a large scale does not exist .
The most common form of weather modification is cloud seeding, which involves releasing substances like silver iodide or sodium chloride into the atmosphere to encourage water to condense or freeze on them, potentially producing rain. However, hurricanes are massive and complex storm systems driven by large-scale atmospheric conditions, such as warm ocean temperatures, high humidity, and low wind shear over a vast area. These factors contribute to the development of tropical cyclones, which can evolve into hurricanes. The scale and energy involved in hurricanes far exceed what cloud seeding can achieve.
While cloud seeding can potentially enhance local rainfall under certain conditions, it reportedly does not have the capability to generate the immense energy and atmospheric dynamics necessary for hurricane formation.
RELATED: A Brief History and Review of the Science Behind Cloud-Seeding
Greene has faced criticism in the past for amplifying conspiracy theories. She has questioned the events of 9/11, the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the origin of the 2018 Camp Fire in California, which killed 85 people, and more. In 2021, she was removed from her House committee assignments due to past comments supporting QAnon conspiracies and endorsing the assassination of political opponents.
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In response to misinformation about Hurricane Helene and similar claims, FEMA has created a webpage to address rumors.
Their top three pieces of advice are: 1. Find trusted sources of information. 2. Share information from trusted sources. 3. Discourage others from sharing information from unverified sources. The page can be found here.