Amazon Alexa spouted conspiracy theory when asked about chemtrails

Ask Alexa about chemtrails, and she'll tell you it's a government conspiracy. Seriously.

"Chemtrails: Trails left by aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for a purpose undisclosed to the general public in clandestine programs directed by government officials," my Amazon Echo responds when asked "What's a chemtrail."

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Let's be clear, here. Chemtrails are not "biological agents deliberately sprayed" by "government officials," despite what the popular conspiracy theory touts.

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A study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters concluded that the theory was bunk. The study found that 76 out of 77 atmospheric chemists and geochemists had found no evidence supporting a chemical spraying program by aircraft.

Rather, chemtrails are actually contrails, a visible cloud-like trail produced by aircraft when heat and water vapor is emitted in the cold, dry upper atmosphere.

UPDATE: April 11, 2018, 5:36 p.m. EDT The prompt has been fixed. An Amazon rep said in an email "This was an error and has since been corrected."

This is not the first time Amazon's Echo has made headlines for its ridiculous responses. Most recently, Alexa was creeping out its users for laughing randomly.

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