Conspiracy theories falsely blame Colombia earthquake on Alaska research programme

Theory Briefing

• A Colombia earthquake was rapidly blamed online on HAARP, a US atmospheric research programme based in Alaska.
• HAARP has long been a magnet for conspiracy theories despite being a scientific facility with no earthquake-causing capability.
• The earthquake's depth is a key geological detail — deeper quakes have distinct natural causes that conspiracy claims ignore.
• Blaming a distant government programme follows a pattern where large, scary events feel too random to accept without an author.