‘Chemtrail’ Conspiracy Theories Just Got An Unexpected Celebrity Endorsement

The exhaust gases of a plane form a contrail which is illuminated by the setting sun at the sky over Hanover, Germany, 14 January 2014. Photo by: Julian Stratenschulte/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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The scion of America’s most notorious reality TV family on Monday brought the so-called “chemtrail” conspiracy theory out of the margins and into the bright lights of pop culture.

Kylie Jenner, the youngest daughter of the family featured on the E! network’s “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” tweeted an image of contrails from airplanes criss-crossing the sky:

The wispy clouds that trail flying jets are made up of frozen water vapor. “Chemtrail” conspiracy theorists believe that those clouds are actually made up of chemical agents deployed by the government to control the weather or the population, although there’s no credible scientific evidence that supports those claims.

The text accompanying the picture Jenner tweeted asked questions typical of “chemtrail” conspiracy theorists: “Is something being exterminated here?” “Is that something me?” “What effect will this have on our health and our childrens [sic] future?”

Of course, it’s possible that Jenner was just trolling here. Engaging in the “chemtrail” conspiracy serves as a bit of clever misdirection distracting her followers from the tabloid rumors about her own life, as this tweet suggests:

Regardless, Jenner just turned on nearly 10 million followers to one of the fringiest anti-government conspiracy theories around.

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