Two Memphis City Council members think the snow from Winter Storm Fern is man-made.
Council members Pearl Walker and Yolanda Cooper Sutton both publicly said the snow was artificial in differing Facebook posts and comments this week. Claims of fake snow have been rampant on social media during the storm, especially TikTok.
Cooper Sutton posted a video showing who she says is her husband attempting to melt a chunk of snow with a lighter.
“It’s not melting [it stinks] when you set fire to it OMG, Jesus Christ, what is happening!!!”
— Yolanda Cooper Sutton, Memphis City Council
The post reads:
“WTW so we decided to see what was really falling hitting the ground,” she said. “It’s not melting [it stinks] when you set fire to it OMG, Jesus Christ, what is happening!!!”
The video is a slo-mo showing flame licking snow but no water drips. It is set to a dramatic slow song, “The Tragedy of Ignorance” by Simon Daum.
In the video, Cooper Sutton says, “This is not melting. This is fire. OMG. What is falling from the sky hitting the ground? Oh my God. We can’t make this up.”
Walker commented on the post, simply, “man made.” She also posted a link to another Facebook video from Angela Sunshyne Thacker. In it, Sunshyne Thacker says that when she first picked up the snow, “it was different,” and that she would not use it to make snow cream.
— Pearl Walker, Memphis City Council
“The caption of the video reads: “Idc idc…. What y’all learned in science class in grade school… that stuff outside still ain’t snow!!!!”
She wondered why the snow was not dripping and why it was turning black. Sunshyne Thacker does not make any solid claims about the snow in the video other than to say it was “trash” and that “people…they need to stop because this ain’t right.”
Activist Hunter Demster noticed the council member’s claims.
“[Disheartening] to see several sitting Memphis City Council members literally pushing conspiracy theories about ‘man made’ snow,” Demster wrote on Facebook. “Sigh……… We are screwed as a species.”
Walker noticed this post and jumped into the fray in the comments.
[Disheartening] to see several sitting Memphis City Council members literally pushing conspiracy theories about ‘man made’ snow. Sigh……… We are screwed as a species.
Hunter Demster
“Damn Hunter you know me???” Walker questioned. “What conspiracy theory am I pushing? Please explain why is the snow not melting with dripping water?”
She then re-posted the video from Angela Sunshyne Thacker. Another user, Matt Germany, criticized the city for buying “toys” for police instead of equipment to deal with snow and ice.
“Where are you getting this misinformation from?” Walker asked. “The city has 16 plus salt trucks. Two thousand tons of salt. Salt doesn’t work as fast when the temperature is 15 degrees or lower. 6 plows.”
Later in the comments, Walker posted a link to another Facebook video, from Kizzy Dunlap Jones. In it, someone with Jones sets a lighter to a piece of snow. When it does not drip, Jones asks sarcastically, “That can’t be fake, can it?”