AAP FACTCHECK – Video of explosions in the sky over Los Angeles in the US show fireworks that were part of an art installation, not a cloud seeding experiment, as social media posts claim.
The event took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum sports stadium on September 15,2024.
Facebook posts suggest the fireworks were something quite different.
One post describes the explosions as a “new found Cloud Seeding experiment”.
The comment is made about a video, shared in the post, that shows explosions in the sky and drifting smoke over what appears to be a residential area.
Text above the video reads: “Mysterious explosions in the clouds spotted over South Central L.A. Was it an experiment or phenomena?”
A watermark on the video points to the Instagram account of “video creator” WestUpMedia and a post from December 8, 2024.
That post’s caption reads: “Have you ever seen anything like this? Small explosions occur among the clouds, resembling the artificial cloud seeding technique. Are we witnessing a bizarre experiment or a rare atmospheric phenomenon?”
Cloud seeding is a legitimate scientific process that improves a cloud’s chances of producing rain or snow.
However, the video in the posts does not show cloud seeding.
Several comments below the Instagram post point to the event behind the mysterious explosions.
One reads: “It was an art installation using fireworks over the coliseum a few weeks back. I posted the video a few weeks back showing what it was on my page.”
The fireworks were part of a display at the LA stadium, hosted by the University of South California, to mark the opening of arts extravaganza PST ART.
The fireworks segment was called WE ARE: Explosion Event, an installation by artist Cai Guo-Qiang.
Only 5000 people attended the event in the Coliseum itself, though some of the firework displays were visible across southern LA.
Official video from the event shows the pattern of explosions seen in the Facebook and Instagram posts (six minutes 35 seconds).
Worth noting is the drift of the smoke (6:50) towards the main entrance of the Coliseum at the eastern end of the stadium.
That drift matches the smoke in the social media post video – the direction of drift if indeed that video was shot from South Central LA, as claimed in the post.
The Verdict
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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