New QAnon-style conspiracy theory links Astroworld tragedy with supposed mind control experiments

Brad Reed
November 09, 2021

Travis Scott performed at the Astroworld Festival in Houston on November 5th. © Jamaal Ellis/ AP

A video that's spreading across Facebook is falsely claiming that the tragedy at Astroworld over the weekend was part of an experiment in which the crowds at the show were mind-controlled using "graphene oxide" purportedly found in COVID-19 vaccines.

The Houston Chronicle on Tuesday published a fact check of this claim in which it explained that this conspiracy theory simply has no basis in reality.

First of all, contra the video, there's no evidence that graphene oxide turns people in "zombies." Additionally, none of the COVID-19 vaccines contain graphene oxide.

"We previously fact-checked a claim that falsely said graphene oxide — a material made by the oxidation of graphite — was used in Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine," the paper writes. "A company spokesperson told us that the material is used in some vaccines, but none by Pfizer. None of the listed ingredients is another name for graphene oxide, and the material doesn't appear in ingredient lists for the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. "

QAnon conspiracy theorists have also been claiming this that the Astroworld disaster was part of a "Satanic ritual" in which rapper Travis Scott was harvesting people's souls in a purported sacrifice to the devil.