This military clip, which is around 100 years old, fuels a conspiracy theory.
A user who shared the video on Facebook implied that the clip was evidence of the extensively refuted chemtrail conspiracy theory.
The theory is that aircraft contrails are not condensed aircraft exhaust – they are poisonous chemicals that are sprayed from aircraft.
Apparently, the cloud spreading towards the earth in the video is supposed to be evidence of this unsubstantiated claim.
User comments below the video make it clear that the alleged evidence is viewed as legitimate by numerous users.
But what is the clip really about?
The video is post-colored footage taken by the US military in 1923.
The falling cloud is a so-called “smoke screen”, a “smoke curtain” that is supposed to cover the sinking of the warships USS New Jersey and USS Virginia.
This military tactic is used to obscure the view of troops and troop movements, tanks or ships.
Other historical recordings from the US National Archives show similar scenes in this context.
Although chemicals are used in the use of “smoke screens”, the smoke screens are not contrails as we know them from airplanes.
In addition, the contrails disappear behind aircraft – instead of sinking to the ground as in the historical videos.
The dubious use of the video turns historical recordings into supposed evidence of a conspiracy theory.
How do we examine videos for manipulation in the editorial office? It is important to take a look at the details. The individual frames of a video often reveal whether a video has been edited. We take a close look at each picture and enlarge individual sections. Indications of a fake are, for example: lack of motion blur, unnatural shadows or cutting errors. At stern, the general rule is: Seriousness over speed. We always double-check facts and material carefully before we publish them. To do this, we work with the cross-editorial “Verification Team” together with RTL, NTV, RTL2, and Radio NRW.