Why are there so many conspiracy theories around wind farms?

Wind farm conspiracy theories reflect deeper anxieties about change. They combine distrust of government, nostalgia for the fossil fuel era, and a resistance to confronting the complexities of the modern world

A row of wind turbines can become a target for fears about modernity, energy security, or government control. Picture: David Creedon

When Donald Trump recently claimed, during what was supposed to be a press conference about an EU trade deal, that wind turbines were a “con job” that “drive whales loco”, kill birds and even people, he wasn’t just repeating old myths. 

He was tapping into a global pattern of conspiracy theories around renewable energy — particularly wind farms. (Trump calls them “windmills” — a climate denier trope.)