By: Emmi Kivi
August 10 2023
This video does not show a new HAARP machine in Alaska
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
The video does not show a new HAARP machine in Alaska. It is a 3000-ton regenerator transported to a Nigerian petroleum refinery in 2021.
Claim ID 27200813
Context
Viral TikTok videos claim to show a new HAARP machine in Alaska. A short clip, shared multiple times on the platform, displays a large machinery component on transport wheels. This clip has also been shared on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) has been based at the University of Alaska Fairbanks since 2015, initially operated by the U.S. Air Force to study the ionosphere using radio transmitters. As its website describes, HAARP is the most high-powered, high-frequency transmitter for studying the ionosphere.
However, this video does not show a new HAARP machine.
In fact
A reverse image search of the viral clip on Yandex produced multiple results for the “Dangote Petroleum Refinery” and “Mammoet,” with videos dating back to 2019.
of a reverse image research result from 2019 that led us to investigate the Dangote Petroleum Refinery
in Nigeria further. (Source: TikTok/@loudsparrow, X (formerly Twitter/@TegaFejEnergy).
These results led us to an article titled “Mammoet Sets New Record in Nigeria” on the ConstructAfrica website. The article describes the construction of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Dangote Quay Lekki, Nigeria.
appearance of the original video (Source: ConstructAfrica).
A search for further coverage on the Dangote Petroleum Refinery shed light on the machinery component seen in the video. Mammoet, the transport contractor for the Nigerian refinery, published a project video with more matching imagery to the original video.
appearance of the original video clip. (Source: YouTube)
After a two-year construction period, the refinery opened in May, but has yet to be operational. According to the Mammoet website, the company transported 239 items to the site, including the 3.000-ton regenerator and a 2.000-ton crude column, also shown on the company’s YouTube channel. Comparing the footage with the viral video, we can notice affirming similar appearance of the machinery component.
The HAARP facility is a large instrument consisting of 180 large antennas sprawling over 33 acres. According to the HAARP website, the facility was built in the 1990s, and the final buildout was completed in 2007. There are no reports of any newer installments to the facility.
A representative from The University of Alaska Fairbanks confirmed to Logically Facts that “There is no new HAARP in Alaska.”
Imposing in size and secludedly placed, HAARP is a favored topic among conspiracy theorists erroneously suggesting that it has climate modification and mind control capabilities and the power to induce earthquakes – claims previously debunked by Logically Facts.
The verdict
The video does not show a new HAARP machine in Alaska. It is 3000-ton regenerator transported to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria in 2021. The University of Alaska Fairbanks has not reported any new HAARP additions. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.
