View source for Modern flat Earth beliefs

{{Short description|Anti-scientific belief}}
{{About|modern-day beliefs that Earth is flat|similar topics|Flat Earth (disambiguation)}}
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{{EngvarB|date=January 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

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| caption1          = Projections of the sphere like the [[azimuthal equidistant projection]] have been co-opted as images of the flat Earth model depicting [[Antarctica]] as an ice wall<ref name="Schadwald 1980">{{Cite journal|last=Schadwald|first=Robert J.|date=July 1980|title=The Flat-out Truth:Earth Orbits? Moon Landings? A Fraud! Says This Prophet|url=https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/newspaperandmagazine/Flat-Out%20Truth,%20The%20(Schadewald).pdf|journal=Science Digest}}</ref><ref name="Schick 1995">{{Cite book|title=How to think about weird things: critical thinking for a new age|last1=Schick|first1=Theodore|last2=Vaughn|first2=Lewis|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|year=1995|isbn=978-1-55934-254-4|pages=197}}</ref> surrounding a disk-shaped Earth. 
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| caption2          = Twenty-two images of Earth taken from space by the [[Deep Space Climate Observatory|DSCOVR]] satellite, showing the contemporary scientific view of Earth as a spherical globe
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[[Antiscience|Anti-scientific beliefs]] in a [[flat Earth]] are promoted by a number of organizations and individuals. The claims of modern flat Earth proponents are not based on [[science|scientific knowledge]] and are contrary to over two millennia of scientific consensus based on [[Empirical evidence for the spherical shape of Earth|multiple confirming lines of evidence]] that [[Spherical Earth|Earth is roughly spherical]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher=US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |title=Is the Earth round? |url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/earth-round.html |website=oceanservice.noaa.gov |language=EN-US}}</ref> Flat Earth beliefs are classified by experts in philosophy and physics as a form of [[denialism|science denial]].<ref name="brazil202007">{{cite web |url=https://physicsworld.com/a/fighting-flat-earth-theory/ |title=Fighting flat-Earth theory |last=Brazil |first=Rachel |date=14 July 2020 |website=Physics World |access-date=6 February 2021}}</ref>

Flat Earth groups of the modern era date from the middle of the 20th century; some adherents are serious and some are not. Those who are serious are often motivated by [[religion]]<ref name="YGFlerferReligion">{{cite web |first1=Hoang |last1=Nguyen |title=Most flat earthers consider themselves very religious |url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/philosophy/articles-reports/2018/04/02/most-flat-earthers-consider-themselves-religious |website=today.yougov.com |publisher=YouGov PLC |access-date=22 February 2020 |language=en |date=2 April 2018 |quote=more than half of Flat earthers (52%) consider themselves "very religious,"}}</ref> or [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html|title=Are Flat-Earthers Being Serious?|date=30 May 2016|first=Natalie|last=Wolchover|work=LiveScience|access-date=17 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Landrum |first1=Asheley R. |last2=Olshansky |first2=Alex |date=2019 |title=The role of conspiracy mentality in denial of science and susceptibility to viral deception about science |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-the-life-sciences/article/role-of-conspiracy-mentality-in-denial-of-science-and-susceptibility-to-viral-deception-about-science/943F0F58B7A2864A0E3121A2C9EE8174 |journal=Politics and the Life Sciences |language=en |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=193–209 |doi=10.1017/pls.2019.9 |issn=0730-9384}}</ref><ref name="sagepub" /> Through the use of [[social media]], flat Earth theories have been increasingly espoused and promoted by individuals unaffiliated with larger groups. Many believers make use of social media to spread their views.<ref name=Ambrose/><ref name=Dure/>

==Background {{anchor|Historical beliefs in a flat Earth, rise of the spherical Earth model}}==
{{Main|Flat Earth}}

Contrary to [[Myth of the flat Earth|the popular belief]] that Earth was generally believed to be flat until a few hundred years ago, the spherical shape of Earth (and other celestial bodies) has been widely accepted in the Western world (and universally by scholars) since at least the [[Hellenistic period]] (323 BCE–31 BCE), with the first known measurement of Earth's circumference conducted by [[Eratosthenes]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hutchings |first1=David |last2=Ungureanu |first2=James C. |title=Of popes and unicorns: science, Christianity, and how the conflict thesis fooled the world |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=0190053097}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html | title=Are Flat-Earthers Being Serious? | website=[[Live Science]] | date=16 December 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brazil |first=Rachel |date=2020-07-14 |title=Fighting flat-Earth theory |url=https://physicsworld.com/fighting-flat-earth-theory/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Physics World |language=en-GB}}</ref>

It is only comparatively recently that the Flat Earth concept has grown widespread support, due to [[Samuel Rowbotham]] in the 19th century. Flat Earth beliefs have had a recent resurgence since 2015, due to the internet.

==19th and early 20th centuries==
{{See also|Biblical literalism}}
[[File:Rowbotham's flat Earth map.jpg|thumb|Rowbotham's flat Earth map]]
Modern flat Earth belief originated with the English writer [[Samuel Rowbotham]] (1816–1884). Based on conclusions derived from his 1838 [[Bedford Level experiment]], Rowbotham published the 1849 [[pamphlet]] titled ''Zetetic Astronomy'', writing under the pseudonym "Parallax". He later expanded this into the book ''Earth Not a Globe'', proposing Earth is a flat disc centred at the North Pole and bounded along its southern edge by a wall of ice, [[Antarctica]]. Rowbotham further held that the [[Sun]] and [[Moon]] were {{Convert|3000|mi}} above Earth and that the "cosmos" was {{Convert|3100|mi}} above Earth.<ref name="Schick 1995"/> He also published a leaflet titled ''The Inconsistency of Modern Astronomy and its Opposition to the Scriptures'', which argued that the "[[Bible]], alongside our senses, supported the idea that Earth was flat and immovable and this essential truth should not be set aside for a system based solely on human conjecture".<ref>{{harvnb|Garwood|2007|p=46}}</ref>

Rowbotham and followers like [[William Carpenter (flat-Earth theorist)|William Carpenter]] gained attention by successful use of [[pseudoscience]] in public debates with leading scientists such as [[Alfred Russel Wallace]].<ref>''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'' 7 April 1870.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title =The Form of the Earth—A Shock of Opinions |journal=[[The New York Times]] |date=10 August 1871 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/08/10/78770850.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711054039/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1871/08/10/78770850.pdf |archive-date=2019-07-11 |url-status=live |access-date= 2 November 2007 }}</ref><ref>Hampden, John (1870): The Bedford Canal swindle detected & exposed. A. Bull, London.</ref> Rowbotham created a Zetetic Society in England and New York, shipping over a thousand copies of ''Zetetic Astronomy'' to the New York branch.<ref>{{harvnb|Garwood|2007|p=133}}</ref> Wallace repeated the Bedford Level experiment in 1870, correcting for [[atmospheric refraction]] and showing a spherical Earth.

In 1877, John Hampden produced a book ''A New Manual of Biblical Cosmography''.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Discovery of America |date= 1892 |first= John |last= Fiske |page= [https://archive.org/details/discoveryameric13fiskgoog/page/n317 267] |url= https://archive.org/details/discoveryameric13fiskgoog |publisher= The Riverside Press}}</ref> Rowbotham also produced studies that purported to show that the effects of ships disappearing below the horizon could be explained by the laws of perspective in relation to the human eye.<ref>{{Cite book |author= Parallax (Samuel Birley Rowbotham) |title= Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe |edition= Third | place= London |publisher= Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. |date=1881 |url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/za/za32.htm}}</ref>

After Rowbotham's death, [[Lady Elizabeth Blount]] established the Universal Zetetic Society in 1893, whose objective was "the propagation of knowledge related to Natural [[Cosmogony]] in confirmation of the Holy Scriptures, based on practical scientific investigation". The society published a magazine, ''The Earth Not a Globe Review'', which sold for twopence and remained active well into the early 20th century.<ref name="speakvenusian">{{cite book |last= Moore |first= Patrick |author-link= Patrick Moore |title= Can You Speak Venusian? |date= 1972 |isbn= 0-352-39776-4 |chapter-url= http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/books/Better%20and%20Flatter%20Earths%20%28Patrick%20Moore%29.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521000355/http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/books/Better%20and%20Flatter%20Earths%20(Patrick%20Moore).pdf |archive-date=2014-05-21 |url-status=live |chapter= Better and Flatter Earths |publisher= Wyndham Publications }}</ref> A flat Earth journal, ''Earth: A Monthly Magazine of Sense and Science'', was published between 1901 and 1904, edited by Lady Blount.<ref>{{harvnb|Garwood|2007|pp=155–159}}</ref> She held that the Bible was the unquestionable authority on the natural world and argued that one could not be a Christian and believe Earth is a globe. Well-known members included [[E. W. Bullinger]] of the [[Trinitarian Bible Society]], Edward Haughton, senior moderator in natural science in [[Trinity College Dublin]] and an archbishop. She repeated Rowbotham's experiments, generating some counter-experiments, but interest declined after the First World War.<ref name="garwood" /> The Universal Zetetic Society "was revived under different names over the years—in 1956, 1972, and 2004."<ref name="Burdick-Looking-2018"/> The movement gave rise to several books that argued for a flat, stationary Earth, including ''Terra Firma'' by David Wardlaw Scott.<ref>{{cite book |first= David |last = Wardlaw Scott |title=Terra Firma |year=1901 |url= https://archive.org/details/cu31924031764594 |access-date= December 13, 2010}}</ref>

Other notable flat Earthers from this time period include:
* [[William Carpenter (flat-Earth theorist)|William Carpenter]], a printer originally from [[Greenwich]], was a supporter of Rowbotham. Carpenter published ''Theoretical Astronomy Examined and Exposed – Proving the Earth not a Globe'' in eight parts from 1864 under the name ''Common Sense''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oB1cxm_M-zUC |title= Theoretical astronomy examined and exposed, by 'Common sense' |year= 1864|last=Carpenter |first= William }}</ref> He later emigrated to Baltimore, where he published ''One Hundred Proofs the Earth is Not a Globe'' in 1885.<ref>{{cite book | first= William | last= Carpenter | title= One Hundred Proofs that the Earth is Not a Globe | place= Baltimore| publisher= William Carpenter| year= 1885 | url= https://www.gutenberg.org/files/55387/55387-h/55387-h.htm | via= [[Project Gutenberg]]}}</ref> He wrote: "There are rivers that flow for hundreds of miles towards the level of the sea without falling more than a few feet&nbsp;– notably, the Nile, which, in a thousand miles, falls but a foot. A level expanse of this extent is quite incompatible with the idea of the Earth's convexity. It is, therefore, a reasonable proof that Earth is not a globe", as well as: "If the Earth were a globe, a small model globe would be the very best&nbsp;– because the truest&nbsp;– thing for the navigator to take to sea with him. But such a thing as that is not known: with such a toy as a guide, the mariner would wreck his ship, of a certainty! This is a proof that Earth is not a globe."
* [[John Jasper]], an American slave turned prolific [[preacher]], and friend of Carpenter's, echoed his friend's sentiments in his most famous sermon ''The Sun Do Move'', preached over 250 times, always by invitation. In a written account of his sermon, published in ''The Richmond Whig'' of March 19, 1878, Jasper says he would frequently cite the verse "I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth"<ref>Rev. 7:1.</ref> and follow up by arguing: "So we are living on a four-cornered earth; then, my friends, will you tell me how in the name of God can an earth with four corners be round!" In the same article he argued: "if the earth is like others say, who hold a different theory, peopled on the other side, those people would be obliged to walk on the ground with their feet upward like flies on the ceiling of a room."<ref>Hatcher ([[#CITEREFHatcher1908|1908]], [https://archive.org/details/johnjasperunmatc00hatciala/page/20 p. 20]), Garwood ([[#CITEREFGarwood2007|2007]], p. 165), Randolph ([[#CITEREFRandolph1884|1884]], [https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/jasper/jasper.html#p47 pp. 47–53]).</ref>
* In [[Brockport, New York|Brockport]], [[New York (state)|New York]], in 1887, M. C. Flanders argued the case of a flat Earth for three nights against two scientific gentlemen defending sphericity. Five townsmen chosen as judges voted unanimously for a flat Earth at the end. The case was reported in the ''Brockport Democrat''.<ref>''The Earth: Scripturally, Rationally, and Practically Described. A Geographical, Philosophical, and Educational Review, Nautical Guide, and General Student's Manual'', n. 17 (November 1, 1887), p. 7. Cited in {{Cite news |first= Robert J. |last= Schadewald |title= Scientific Creationism, Geocentricity, and the Flat Earth |year= 1981 |work= Skeptical Inquirer |url= http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/crea-fe.htm |publisher= Lock Haven University |access-date= August 21, 2010 |via= lhup.edu |archive-date= 3 August 2003 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20030803044401/http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/crea-fe.htm |url-status= dead }}</ref>
* Joseph W. Holden of [[Maine]], a former [[justice of the peace]], gave numerous lectures in [[New England]] and lectured on flat-Earth theory at the [[Columbian Exposition]] in Chicago. His fame stretched to [[North Carolina]], where the [[Statesville, North Carolina|Statesville]] ''Semi-Weekly Landmark'' recorded at his death in 1900: "We hold to the doctrine that the Earth is flat ourselves and we regret exceedingly to learn that one of our members is dead."<ref name= "garwood">Garwood ([[#CITEREFGarwood2007|2007]]).</ref>
* In 1898, during his solo [[circumnavigation]] of the world, [[Joshua Slocum]] encountered a group of flat-Earthers in [[Durban|Durban, South Africa]]. Three [[Boers]], one of them a clergyman, presented Slocum with a pamphlet in which they set out to prove that the world was flat. [[Paul Kruger]], President of the [[South African Republic|Transvaal Republic]], advanced the same view: "You don't mean ''round'' the world, it is impossible! You mean ''in'' the world. Impossible!"<ref>{{cite book | first= Joshua | last = Slocum | title= Sailing Alone Around the World | place= New York | publisher= The Century Company | year= 1900 |chapter = 17–18 | chapter-url= http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/js/saaw.htm}}</ref>
* From 1915 to 1942 [[Wilbur Glenn Voliva]], who in 1906 took over the [[Christ Community Church|Christian Catholic Church]], a [[Pentecostal]] sect that established a utopian community in [[Zion, Illinois|Zion]], [[Illinois]], preached flat Earth doctrine. He used a photograph of a {{convert|12|mi|adj=on|spell=in}} stretch of the shoreline at [[Lake Winnebago]], [[Wisconsin]], taken {{convert|3|ft|cm|spell=in}} above the waterline to prove his point. When the [[Italia (airship)|airship ''Italia'']] disappeared on an expedition to the [[North Pole]] in 1928, he warned the world's press that it had sailed over the edge of the world. He offered a $5,000 award ({{Inflation|US|5000|1931|fmt=eq}}) for proving that Earth is not flat, under his own conditions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/05/19/5000-for-proving-the-earth-is-a-globe/ |title=$5,000 for Proving the Earth is a Globe |work=Modern Mechanix |date=May 19, 2006 |access-date=February 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110411223327/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006/05/19/5000-for-proving-the-earth-is-a-globe/ |archive-date=April 11, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Teaching a globular Earth was banned in the Zion schools, and the message was transmitted on his WCBD radio station.<ref name="garwood" />
* Along with those who followed him, [[Frank Cherry]] (died 1963), the founder of the [[Black Hebrew Israelites|Black Hebrew Israelite]] religion, taught the existence of a flat Earth "surrounded by three layers of heaven."<ref name="Gallagher2006">{{cite book |last1=Gallagher |first1=Eugene V. |title=Introduction to New and Alternative Religions in America [Five Volumes] |date=2006 |publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]] |isbn=978-0-313-05078-7 |page=73 |language=English|quote=...he accepted the collection of Jewish law known as the Talmud as the ultimate authority on religious matters. Like many black Israelites and black Muslims, Cherry stigmatized Southern black culture, forbidding his followers to eat pork, drink heavily, or observe Christian holidays. He also separated himself from African American Christianity by forbidding pianos, public collections, emotional expression in worship, or speaking in tongues. ... Services began and ended with a prayer said while facing east ... Prophet Cherry's theology was strongly millenarian, black nationalist, and idiosyncratic. He emphasized strict adherence to the Ten Commandments, and his followers believed in a square Earth surrounded by three layers of heaven. He claimed that Jesus was black and would return in the year 2000 and raise all the saints who obeyed the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Prophet Cherry. Cherry denigrated white Jews as interlopers and frauds and vilified them for denying the divinity of Jesus. Prophet Cherry passed away in 1963 and was succeeded by his son Prince Benjamin F. Cherry.}}</ref>

==International Flat Earth Research Society<span class="anchor" id="Flat Earth Society"></span>==
{{Redirect|Flat Earth Society}}
[[File:Flat Earth Society Logo.png|thumb|Logo of the Flat Earth Society]]
In 1956, [[Samuel Shenton]] created the International Flat Earth Research Society, better known as the "Flat Earth Society", as a successor to the Universal Zetetic Society, running it as "organising secretary" from his home in [[Dover]], England.<ref name="speakvenusian"/><ref name="Gilmore 1967">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17484882/the_cincinnati_enquirer|title=So now we know: The Earth is not only flat—it's motionless, too|last=Gilmore|first=Eddy|date=26 March 1967|work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]|access-date=15 February 2018|page=26–I|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com}}  {{free access}} Readable clippings in four parts: [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17484925/the_cincinnati_enquirer/ 1] • [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17484950/the_cincinnati_enquirer/ 2] • [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17484958/the_cincinnati_enquirer/ 3]
• [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17484965/the_cincinnati_enquirer/ 4]</ref> Given Shenton's interest in alternative science and technology, the emphasis on religious arguments was less than in the predecessor society.<ref>{{harvnb|Garwood|2007|pp=220–225}}</ref> This was just before the [[Soviet Union]] launched the first [[artificial satellite]], [[Sputnik]]; he responded: "Would sailing round the [[Isle of Wight]] prove that it were spherical? It is just the same for those satellites."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zyl |first=Derrick van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYC-DwAAQBAJ&q=Samuel+Shenton+%22Would+sailing+round+the+Isle+of+Wight+prove+that+it+were+spherical%3F+It+is+just+the+same+for+those+satellites.&pg=PT54 |title=The Mythology of God: Why and how religion harms humanity |date=2017-11-30 |publisher=Derrick van Zyl |isbn=978-0-620-49962-0 |language=en}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The quote is not attributed to a person in the sample text of the book that can be accessed freely, the book would need to be checked to ensure it is attributed to the correct person.|date=July 2023}}

His primary aim was to reach children before they were convinced about a spherical Earth. Despite plenty of publicity, the space race eroded Shenton's support in Britain until 1967, when he started to gain attention during the [[Apollo program]].<ref name=garwood /> When satellite images showed Earth as a sphere, Shenton remarked: "It's easy to see how a photograph like that could fool the untrained eye".<ref>{{cite web|last=Schadewald|first=RJ |url= http://ncse.com/cej/3/3/six-flood-arguments-creationists-cant-answer |title= Six "flood" arguments creationists can't answer |publisher= [[National Center for Science Education]] |access-date=24 April 2010}}</ref> Later asked about similar photographs taken by astronauts, he attributed curvature to the use of [[wide-angle lens]], adding, "It's a deception of the public and it isn't right".<ref name="Gilmore 1967"/>

In 1969, Shenton persuaded [[Ellis Hillman]], a [[University of East London|Polytechnic of East London]] lecturer, to become president of the Flat Earth Society after attempts to convince Eden Thomas, a former chairman, to take on the role; but there is little evidence of any activity on his part until after Shenton's death, when he added most of Shenton's library to the archives of the [[Science Fiction Foundation]] he helped to establish.<ref>{{harvnb|Garwood|2007|pp=320}}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=33%|quote= Historical accounts and spoken history tell us the Land part may have been square, all in one mass at one time, then as now, the magnetic north being the Center. Vast cataclysmic events and shaking no doubt broke the land apart, divided the Land to be our present continents or islands as they exist today. One thing we know for sure about this world...the known inhabited world is Flat, Level, a Plain World.|source= – Flyer written by Charles K. Johnson, 1984.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/flatearth.html | title = Documenting the Existence of 'The International Flat Earth Society' | publisher = [[talk.origins]] | access-date=26 December 2013}}</ref>}}

Shenton died in 1971. [[Charles K. Johnson]], a correspondent from California, inherited part of Shenton's library from Shenton's wife; he incorporated and became president of the International Flat Earth Research Society of America and Covenant People's Church in California. Over the next three decades, under his leadership, the Flat Earth Society grew to a reported 3,500 members.<ref name="Martin 2001">{{cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/25/us/charles-johnson-76-proponent-of-flat-earth.html |title= Charles Johnson, 76, Proponent of Flat Earth |date= 25 March 2001 |access-date= 27 December 2013 |work= The New York Times |first= Douglas |last= Martin}}</ref>

Johnson spent years examining the studies of flat- and round-Earth theories and proposed evidence of a [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy]] against flat Earth: "The idea of a spinning globe is only a conspiracy of error that Moses, Columbus, and FDR all fought..." His article was published in the magazine ''[[Science Digest]]'' in 1980. It goes on to state: "If it is a sphere, the surface of a large body of water must be curved. The Johnsons have checked the surfaces of [[Lake Tahoe]] and the [[Salton Sea]] without detecting any curvature."<ref>{{cite web |author=Robert J. Schadewald |url=https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/fe-scidi.htm |title=The Flat-out Truth |publisher=Lhup.edu |access-date=January 22, 2018 |archive-date=29 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171229232029/http://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/fe-scidi.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Johnson issued many publications and handled all membership applications. The most famous publication was ''Flat Earth News,'' a quarterly, four-page [[Tabloid journalism|tabloid]].<ref name="Schadwald 1980"/> Johnson paid for these publications through annual member dues costing [[United States dollar|US$]]6 to US$10 over the course of his leadership.<ref name="Schadwald 1980"/> Johnson cited the Bible for his beliefs, and he saw scientists as pulling a hoax which would replace religion with science.<ref name="Martin 2001"/>

The Flat Earth Society's most recent planet model is that humanity lives on a disc, with the North Pole at its centre and a {{Convert|150|ft|m|-high|adj=mid}} wall of ice, Antarctica, at the outer edge.<ref name="whirling">{{cite web|url=http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/newsletters/Flat%20Earth%20Society%20Newsletter%20-%201979%20March.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812173537/http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/newsletters/Flat%20Earth%20Society%20Newsletter%20-%201979%20March.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-12 |url-status=live |title=Is the Earth a Whirling Globe? |first=Wilbur Glenn |last=Voliva |date=March 1979 |work=Flat Earth News |publisher=International Flat Earth Research Society |location=Lancaster, CA |page=2}}</ref> The resulting [[map]] resembles the [[Flag of the United Nations|symbol of the United Nations]], which Johnson used as evidence for his position.<ref name="fesn_d78p2">{{cite web|url=http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/newsletters/Flat%20Earth%20Society%20Newsletter%20-%201978%20December.pdf |title=Flat Earth News: News of the World's Children |first=Charles K. |last=Johnson |date=December 1978 |publisher=International Flat Earth Research Society |location=Lancaster, California |page=2 }}</ref> In this model, the Sun and Moon are each {{Convert|32|mi}} in diameter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/newsletters/Flat%20Earth%20Society%20Newsletter%20-%201978%20December.pdf|title=Sun is a light 32 miles across|last=Johnson|first=Charles K.|date=December 1978|work=Flat Earth News|access-date=1 January 2018|publisher=International Flat Earth Research Society |location=Lancaster, California|page=1}}</ref>

The Flat Earth Society recruited members by speaking against the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]] and all its agencies, particularly [[NASA]]. Much of the society's literature in its early days focused on [[Biblical hermeneutics|interpreting the Bible]] to mean that Earth is flat, although they did try to offer scientific explanations and evidence.<ref name="Schadwald 1980"/>

===Criticism===
[[Eugenie Scott]] called the group an example of "extreme [[Biblical literalism|Biblical-literalist]] theology: The earth is flat because the Bible says it is flat, regardless of what science tells us."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Scott|first=Eugenie|year=1997|title=Antievolution and Creationism in the United States|url=http://www.kean.edu/~bregal/docs/Scott.history%20of%20creat.pdf|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=26|pages=263–289|doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.26.1.263|author-link=Eugenie Scott|access-date=8 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120605065015/http://www.kean.edu/~bregal/docs/Scott.history%20of%20creat.pdf|archive-date=5 June 2012}}</ref>

According to some flat Earthers, the Flat Earth Society is a government-controlled organization whose true purpose is to make ridiculous claims about flat Earth and therefore discredit the flat Earth movement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Picheta |first1=Rob |title=The flat-Earth conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-scli-intl/index.html |website=[[CNN]] |access-date=27 July 2022 |date=18 November 2019}}</ref>

===Decline and relaunch===
According to Charles K. Johnson, the membership of the group rose to 3,500 under his leadership but began to decline after a fire at his house in 1997 which destroyed all of the records and contacts of the society's members. Johnson's wife, who helped manage the membership database, died shortly thereafter. Johnson himself died on 19 March 2001.<ref name="president1">{{cite web|last=Cole|first=John R.|url=http://ncse.com/rncse/21/3-4/flat-earth-society-president-dies |title=Flat Earth Society President Dies|publisher=[[National Center for Science Education]] |year=2001 |access-date=15 June 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Donald E. Simanek |url=http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/flat/flateart.htm |title=The Flat Earth |publisher=Lhup.edu |access-date=February 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128084210/http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/flat/flateart.htm |archive-date=January 28, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2004, Daniel Shenton (not related to Samuel)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://elpais.com/diario/2010/03/19/tentaciones/1269026579_850215.html|title=Miedo a un planeta esférico|date=19 March 2010|access-date=21 July 2012}}</ref> resurrected the Flat Earth Society, basing it around a web-based discussion [[internet forum|forum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/ |title=The Flat Earth Society forum|access-date=24 July 2014}}</ref> In the late 1990s, [[Thomas Dolby]]'s 1984 album ''[[The Flat Earth]]'' had inspired Shenton to look into the Flat Earth Society, and he came to believe in its ideas.<ref name=":0" /> He believes that no one has provided proof that the world is not flat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livescience.com/14754-ingenious-flat-earth-theory-revealed-map.html |title=Ingenious 'Flat Earth' Theory Revealed In Old Map |date=23 June 2011 |publisher=LiveScience |access-date=February 9, 2013}}</ref> This eventually led to the official relaunch of the society in October 2009,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/library/pressreleases/flat_earth_society_press_release.pdf|title=Relaunch of the Flat Earth Society (press release)}}</ref> and the creation of a new website, featuring a public collection of flat Earth literature and a [[wiki]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theflatearthsociety.org/cms/|title=The Flat Earth Society Homepage|access-date=24 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160708001505/http://www.theflatearthsociety.org/cms/|archive-date=8 July 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Moreover, the society began accepting new members for the first time since 2001. Dolby accepted Shenton's offer of membership number 00001, although he does not believe Earth is flat.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|author=Adam, David|date=23 February 2010|title=The Earth is flat? What planet is he on?|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2010/feb/23/flat-earth-society|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-05 |title=Why celebs are joining the flat earth debate |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/why-are-these-celebrities-joining-the-flat-earth-movement/HDX4CD3YFQCFNGEAALBR6FHP5I/ |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref> {{as of|2017|July}}, over 500 people had become members.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Flat Earth Society – Membership Register|url=http://theflatearthsociety.org/cms/index.php/about-the-society/membership-register|website=theflatearthsociety.org|access-date=23 July 2014}}</ref>

In 2013, part of this society broke away to form a new web-based group also featuring a forum and wiki.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Flat Earth Society|url=http://www.tfes.org/|access-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>

==By country==
===Canada===
The Flat Earth Society of Canada was established on 8 November 1970 by philosopher [[Leo Ferrari]], writer [[Raymond Fraser]] and poet [[Alden Nowlan]];<ref name=nbl-encyclopedia>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Leo Charles Ferrari|url=http://w3.stu.ca/stu/sites/nble/f/ferrari_leo_charles.html|encyclopedia=New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia|publisher=St. Thomas University|access-date=16 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202160147/http://w3.stu.ca/stu/sites/nble/f/ferrari_leo_charles.html|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> and was active until 1984.<ref name=ferrari-fond-series2>{{cite web|title=Series No. 2 The Flat Earth Society of Canada|url=http://www.lib.unb.ca/archives/finding/ferrari/s2.html|work=Leo C. Ferrari Fonds|publisher=UNB Archives and Special Collections|access-date=16 March 2013}}</ref> Its archives are held at the [[University of New Brunswick]].<ref name="cbc.ca">{{cite news|last1=Bird|first1=Lindsay|title=Museum of the Flat Earth opens on (where else?) Fogo Island|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/museum-of-the-flat-earth-opens-on-fogo-island-1.3590896|access-date=8 May 2017|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=20 May 2016}}</ref>

Calling themselves "planoterrestrialists",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hieronymopolis.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/dr-ferrari-and-the-flat-earth-society-by-alden-nowlan-2/|title=Dr. Ferrari and the Flat Earth Society by Alden Nowlan|access-date=7 February 2013|date=3 December 2012}}</ref> their aims were quite different from other flat Earth societies. They claimed a prevailing problem of the new technological age was the willingness of people to accept theories "on blind faith and to reject the evidence of their own senses."<ref name=ferrari-fond-series2/> The parodic intention of the Society appeared in the writings of Ferrari, as he attributed everything from gender to racial inequality on the globularist and the [[spherical Earth]] model.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ferrari|first=Leo Charles|year=1975|title=Feminism and education in a Flat Earth perspective|url=http://mje.mcgill.ca/index.php/MJE/article/download/7006/4948|journal=McGill Journal of Education|volume=X|issue=1|pages=77–81}}</ref> Ferrari also claimed to have nearly fallen off "the Edge" of Earth at Brimstone Head on [[Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador|Fogo Island]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Colombo|first=John R|title=Canadian Literary Landmarks|date=1984|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-0888820730|page=19}}</ref>

Ferrari was interviewed as an "expert" in the 1990 flat Earth [[mockumentary]] ''In Search of the Edge'' by Pancake Productions (a reference to the expression "as flat as a pancake").<ref name="Barrie 2005">{{cite AV media| people = Barrie, Scott (Director); Marsh, Robert (Narrator)| date = 2005| title = In search of the edge : an inquiry into the shape of the earth and the disappearance of Andrea Barns| medium = DVD| url = http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/search.html| publisher = Pancake Productions| location = Toronto, Ontario| isbn = 9781594582295| oclc = 81094526}}</ref> In the accompanying study guide, Ferrari is outed as a "globularist", a [[nonce word]] for someone who believes Earth is spherical.<ref>Barrie, Scott (Director); Marsh, Robert (Narrator) (2005). In search of the edge : an inquiry into the shape of the earth and the disappearance of Andrea Barns (DVD). Toronto, Ontario: Pancake Productions. {{ISBN|9781594582295}}. OCLC 810945</ref> The real intent of the film, which was part-funded by the [[Ontario Arts Council]] and [[National Film Board of Canada]],<ref name="Barrie 2005"/> was to promote schoolchildren's [[critical thinking]] and [[media literacy]] by "[attempting] to prove in convincing fashion, something everyone knew to be false."<ref>{{cite web|title=In Search of the Edge An Inquiry into the Shape of the Earth and the Disappearance of Andrea Barns|url=http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/search.html|website=Bullfrog Films|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref>

====Relaunch====
Multi-media artist [[Kay Burns]] re-created the Flat Earth Society of Canada as an art project with her [[alter ego]] Iris Taylor<ref name="cbc.ca"/> as its president.<ref>{{cite web|title=Flat Earth Society|url=http://www.itaylorresearch.com/|website=Iris Taylor Research|access-date=8 May 2017}}</ref> Burns created an installation entitled the [[Museum of the Flat Earth]], which included some artefacts from the 1970 group. It was exhibited in 2016 at the Flat Earth Outpost Café in [[Shoal Bay (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Shoal Bay]], [[Newfoundland]].<ref name="cbc.ca"/>

===Italy===
In Italy, there are no centralised societies on flat Earth. However, since the 2010s, small groups of conspiracy theorists, who carry out meetings, started to emerge and to spread flat Earth theories. Among these are Calogero Greco, Albino Galuppini and Agostino Favari, who in 2018–2019 organised several meetings in [[Palermo]], [[Sicily]], with an entry price of [[Euro|€]]20.<ref name=ItalyFE>{{cite web|language=it|title=Terrapiattisti a Palermo: "Lo sbarco sulla luna è una invenzione" (Flat Earth in Palermo: "Moon landing is fiction")|date=11 May 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|website=[[Adnkronos]]|url=https://www.adnkronos.com/fatti/cronaca/2019/05/11/terrapiattisti-palermo-sbarco-sulla-luna-una-invenzione_qp89IcCYJyNifqCYnb9HQK.html?refresh_ce}}</ref><ref name=ItalyFE2>{{cite web|language=it|url=https://www.ilmessaggero.it/scienza/terrapiattisti_convegno_palermo_ultime_notizie_oggi_12_maggio_2019-4486635.html|date=12 May 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|title=Terrapiattisti a Palermo, ma Beppe Grillo non c'è. "La Nasa? È come Disneyland" (Flat Earth in Palermo, but Beppe Grillo is not there. "NASA? It's like Disneyland")|website=[[Il Messaggero]]}}</ref>

Among their claims are:
* NASA is similar to [[Disneyland]] and that [[astronaut]]s are actors.<ref name=ItalyFE/><ref name=ItalyFE2/>
* The April 2019 photo of the [[supermassive black hole]] at the core of the [[Type-cD galaxy|supergiant]] [[elliptical galaxy]] [[Messier 87]] is fake.<ref name=ItalyFE2/>
* The proof Earth is flat can be demonstrated with a filled bottle where, if placed horizontally, water never curves.<ref name=ItalyFE/><ref name=ItalyFE2/>

In addition to these, it is their common belief that the United States has a plan to create in Europe a new America [[Free migration|open to everyone]], where the only value is [[consumerism]] and that [[George Soros]] commands a [[Satanism|satanic]] [[Globalism|globalist]] conspiracy.<ref name=ItalyFE/><ref name=ItalyFE2/> They reject the past existence of dinosaurs, the [[Charles Darwin|Darwinian]] [[evolution|theory of evolution]], and the authority of the [[scientific community]], claiming scientists are [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]].<ref>{{cite magazine|language=it|title=Il terrapiattismo italiano in 10 punti (Italian flat Earth in 10 points)|date=29 November 2018|access-date=22 July 2019|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|url=https://www.wired.it/attualita/media/2018/11/29/terrapiattismo-italiano/}}</ref>

Former [[List of leaders of the Five Star Movement|leader of the Five Star Movement]] political party [[Beppe Grillo]] showed interest in the group, admitting to admiring their [[Freedom of speech|free speech]] spirit and to wanting to participate at the May 2019 conference.<ref>{{cite web|language=it|title=BEPPE GRILLO: "VADO AL CONGRESSO DEI TERRAPIATTISTI"|trans-title=BEPPE GRILLO: "I'LL PARTICIPATE FLAT EARTH CONFERENCE"|website=digitale.it|date=29 April 2019|access-date=22 July 2019|url=https://www.ildigitale.it/beppe-grillo-vado-al-congresso-dei-terrapiattisti/}}</ref> However, Grillo did not appear.<ref name=ItalyFE2/>

==Internet-era resurgence==
In November 2017 "more than five hundred people ... paid as much as $249 each to attend "the first-ever Flat Earth Conference", in a suburb of [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], U.S.<ref name="Burdick-Looking-2018">{{cite magazine  |last1=Burdick |first1=Alan |title=Looking for Life on a Flat Earth |magazine=The New Yorker |date=30 May 2018 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/looking-for-life-on-a-flat-earth |access-date=29 July 2023 |language=en |issn=0028-792X}}</ref><ref name="DAWSON-1-25-2018">{{cite news |last1=DAWSON |first1=DURRELL |last2=PILGRIM |first2=EVA |last3=McCARTHY |first3=KELLY |title=Inside Flat Earth International Conference, where everyone believes Earth isn't round |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/inside-flat-earth-international-conference-believes-earth-round/story?id=52580041 |access-date=29 July 2023 |agency=ABC News |date=25 January 2018}}</ref> According to a 2018 [[YouGov]] opinion poll, "just 66% of [[millennials]] firmly believe" that Earth is round,<ref name="Nguyen-YouGov">{{cite web |last1=Nguyen |first1=Hoang |title=Most flat earthers consider themselves very religious |url=https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2018/04/02/most-flat-earthers-consider-themselves-religious |website=YouGov |access-date=31 July 2023 |date=2 April 2018}}</ref> with celebrities (rapper [[B.o.B.]],<ref name="LUI">{{cite magazine |last1=LUI |first1=KEVIN |title=Rapper B.o.B. Has Started a GoFundMe Campaign to Prove That the Earth Is Flat |url=https://time.com/4956840/bob-rapper-flat-earth-gofundme/ |magazine=TIME |access-date=31 July 2023 |date=26 September 2017}}</ref> basketball players [[Kyrie Irving]], [[Wilson Chandler]], [[Draymond Green]])<ref name="EARLYWINE-2017">{{cite news |last1=EARLYWINE |first1=AARON |title=Why athletes are drawn to the flat earth theory |url=https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/03/28/flat-earth-theory |access-date=31 July 2023 |agency=SI |date=28 March 2017}}</ref> advocating for flatness.

===Sociological explanations for counterfactual beliefs===
[[File:Modern Day Debate - Aron Ra vs Nathan Thompson flat earth debate (2020).webm|300px|right|thumb|A popular 2020 YouTube debate about the Flat Earth concept, between science advocate and atheist activist [[Aron Ra]] and flat-earther Nathan Thompson]]
In the [[Information Age]], the availability of communications technology and social media such as [[YouTube]], [[Facebook]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Abbott|first1=Erica|title=Mark Zuckerberg Banning All Flat Earth Groups from Facebook Is A Hoax|url=http://www.business2community.com/facebook/mark-zuckerberg-banning-flat-earth-groups-facebook-hoax-01890594|website=Business2community.com|publisher=Business2community|access-date=19 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819231354/http://www.business2community.com/facebook/mark-zuckerberg-banning-flat-earth-groups-facebook-hoax-01890594|archive-date=19 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Twitter]] have made it easy for individuals, famous<ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.com/celebrity/flat-earth-celebrities-world-not-round/|last1=Heigl|first1=Alex|title=The Short List of Famous People Who Think the Earth Is Flat (Yes, Really)|work=People|access-date=19 August 2017}}</ref> or not, to spread disinformation and attract others to erroneous ideas. One of the topics that has flourished in this environment is that of the flat Earth.<ref name = Ambrose>{{cite web|last1=Ambrose|first1=Graham|title=These Coloradans say Earth is flat. And gravity's a hoax. Now, they're being persecuted.|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/07/colorado-earth-flat-gravity-hoax/|work=The Denver Post|access-date=19 August 2017|date=7 July 2017}}</ref><ref name= Dure>{{cite news|last1=Dure|first1=Beau|title=Flat-Earthers are back: 'It's almost like the beginning of a new religion'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jan/20/flat-earth-believers-youtube-videos-conspiracy-theorists|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=19 August 2017|date=20 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Herreria|first1=Carla|title=Neil deGrasse Tyson Cites Celebrity Flat-Earthers To Make A Point About Politics|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/neil-degrasse-tyson-flat-earth-pop-stars-flawed_us_58faa373e4b06b9cb91719ad|work=HuffPost|access-date=19 August 2017|date=22 April 2017}}</ref>
These sites have made it easier for like-minded theorists to connect with one another and mutually reinforce their beliefs. Social media has had a "levelling effect", in that experts have less sway in the public mind than they used to.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sarner|first=Moya|date=30 August 2019|title=The rise of the Flat Earthers|url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/the-rise-of-the-flat-earthers/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531220119/https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/the-rise-of-the-flat-earthers/|archive-date=31 May 2021|access-date=17 January 2020|website=Science Focus – BBC Focus Magazine|language=en}}</ref>

YouTube has faced criticism for allowing the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories through its platform, specifically, flat Earth.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Paolillo |first=John C. |year=2018 |title=The Flat Earth phenomenon on YouTube |journal=[[First Monday (journal)|First Monday]] |volume=23 |issue=12 |doi=10.5210/fm.v23i12.8251 |doi-access=free |quote=[FROM ABSTRACT:] Flat Earth discourse sometimes crosses into other public discourse, but YouTube remains singularly important in promoting Flat Earth belief and encouraging development of its supporting arguments. The videos at the source of this stir are highly ambiguous. I argue that this phenomenon represents fusion of multiple influences unique to YouTube, including conspiracy theory, climate change denial, science documentaries, clickbait, viral videos, trolling, Russian propaganda, and young-Earth religious fundamentalism. The phenomenon cannot be properly understood without recognizing the distinct contribution of all of these elements. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Landrum |first1=Asheley R. |last2=Olshansky |first2=Alex |last3=Richards |first3=Othello |year=2021 |title=Differential susceptibility to misleading flat earth arguments on youtube |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/15213269.2019.1669461 |journal=Media Psychology |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=136–165 |doi=10.1080/15213269.2019.1669461 |quote=[FROM ABSTRACT:] YouTube has been influential in propagating Flat Earth Ideology, but not everyone is equally susceptible to the effects of watching these videos. In an experiment with a participant pool restricted to regular YouTube users, we found that lower science intelligence and higher conspiracy mentality increase individuals’ susceptibility to flat Earth arguments on YouTube. |hdl=2346/87627 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people=Marco Silva, Asheley Landrum, Guillaume Chaslot, Michael Marshall |date=February 23, 2022 |title=Flat Earth: How did YouTube help spread a conspiracy theory? |medium=Internet video |url=https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p07h3yc0/flat-earth-how-did-youtube-help-spread-a-conspiracy-theory- |access-date=January 5, 2025 |publisher=[[BBC]] }}</ref> In 2019, YouTube stated that it was making changes in its software to reduce the distribution of videos based on conspiracy theories including flat Earth.<ref name="YouTubeCrackdown">{{cite news|last=Yurieff|first=Kaya|date=25 January 2019|title=YouTube says it will crack down on recommending conspiracy videos|work=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/25/tech/youtube-conspiracy-video-recommendations/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=17 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511144529/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/25/tech/youtube-conspiracy-video-recommendations/index.html|archive-date=11 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="YouTube converted people">{{cite news|date=18 July 2019|title=How YouTube converted people to flat Earth|language=en|work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-49021903/flat-earth-how-did-youtube-help-spread-a-conspiracy-theory|url-status=live|access-date=17 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606164653if_/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-49021903|archive-date=6 June 2021}}</ref><ref name="Picheta">{{cite news|author=Rob Picheta|date=18 November 2019|title=The flat earth conspiracy is spreading around the globe. Does it hide a darker core?|work=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-scli-intl/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=17 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327051500/https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-scli-intl/index.html|archive-date=27 March 2021}}</ref> Professor Asheley Landrum<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asheleylandrum.com/ |title=Asheley R. Landrum |publication-date=2024 |publisher=Asheley Landrum |access-date=January 5, 2025 }}</ref> "called on scientists themselves to fight back by using YouTube as a platform to communicate their own work. "We don't want YouTube to be full of videos saying here are all these reasons the Earth is flat," she said. "We need other videos saying here's why those reasons aren't real and here's a bunch of ways you can research it for yourself.""<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnet.com/science/youtube-to-blame-for-rise-in-flat-earthers-says-study/ |title=YouTube to blame for rise in flat Earth believers, says study |author=Mark Serrels |publication-date=February 17, 2019 |publisher=[[CNET]] |access-date=January 5, 2025 }}</ref>

In the documentary ''[[Behind the Curve]]'' (2018)<ref>{{cite web |title=Behind the Curve |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ_zDG6zL58 |website=YouTube |access-date=31 July 2023 |date=2018}}</ref> (which follows prominent modern flat-Earthers including [[Mark Sargent (flat Earth proponent)|Mark Sargent]] and Patricia Steere, as well as astrophysicists and psychologists who attempt to explain the growing fad),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/03/behind-the-curve-a-fascinating-study-of-reality-challenged-beliefs/|title=Behind the Curve a fascinating study of reality-challenged beliefs|last=Timmer|first=John|date=17 March 2019|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us|access-date=13 April 2019}}</ref> professor of psychiatry Joe Pierre offers as explanations: the [[Dunning-Kruger effect]] (the phenomenon whereby ignorance in a given field makes people unable to recognize their own ignorance or lack of ability in that field); misunderstandings of simple observation; pseudoscientific practices which fail to separate reliable from unreliable conclusions; and a progressive divergence from reality that starts with a belief that conventional information sources and the government cannot be trusted.<ref>starting around 27 minutes, 
{{cite web |title=Behind the Curve |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ_zDG6zL58 |website=YouTube |access-date=31 July 2023 |date=2018}}</ref>

Out of the necessity to explain photographs of Earth in space, the observations of astronauts, why all major institutions such as governments, media outlets, schools, scientists, and airlines assert that the world is a sphere, etc., modern flat-Earthers very commonly embrace some form of conspiracy theory. As Darryle Marble, a speaker at the Flat Earth Conference, told his audience, after watching hours of YouTube conspiracy videos on [[Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting conspiracy theories|Sandy Hook]], [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11]], [[false flags]], the [[Bilderberg Meeting#Conspiracy theories|Bilderbergers]], [[Rothschild family#Conspiracy theories|Rothschilds]], [[New World Order (conspiracy theory)#Illuminati|Illuminati]] – "Each thing started to make that much more sense. I was already primed to receive the whole flat-Earth idea, because we had already come to the conclusion that we were being deceived about so many other things. So of course they would lie to us about this."<ref name="Burdick-Looking-2018"/>

Conspiracy belief is often intertwined with [[Biblical literalism|conservative Christian belief]]. According to internet influencer Rob Skiba, "the ultimate motivation" of the (alleged) conspiracy of a round earth in space, "many of us have come to believe, is hiding God." Reading the Bible, "when you break down the text of what it represents, there's no way you can get a spinning heliocentric globe out of anything in the Bible."<ref name="DAWSON-1-25-2018"/> (According to author Alan Burdick, "in style and substance, the flat-Earth movement is a close cousin of creationism.")<ref name="Burdick-Looking-2018"/>

Flat-Earthers tend to not trust observations they have not made themselves, and often distrust or disagree with each other.<ref name="takes">{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2017/10/28/what-does-take-believe-world-flat/0gdgl2JMPhBpgJK5mGXPkI/story.html |title=What does it take to believe the world is flat? |date=28 October 2017 |first=Courtney|last=Humphries|website=[[The Boston Globe]] }}</ref> Patricia Steere admitted in ''Behind the Curve'' that she would not believe an event like the [[Boston Marathon bombing]] was real unless she had gotten her own leg blown off. Flat Earth believers in the documentary also professed belief in conspiracy theories about [[anti-vax|vaccines]], [[GMO conspiracy theories|genetically modified organisms]], [[chemtrails]], [[9/11 conspiracy theories|9/11]], and [[transgender]] people; some said dinosaurs and evolution were also fake, and that [[heliocentrism]] is a form of [[Sun worship]].

The scientific experts in ''Behind the Curve'' pointed to [[confirmation bias]] as a way to maintain a counterfactual belief, by cherry-picking only supporting evidence, and dismissing any disconfirming evidence as part of the purported global conspiracy.<ref>around 30 minutes and 49 minutes</ref>

Some flat Earth believers, such as authors Zen Garcia and Edward Hendrie, cite the Christian Bible as evidence. Some critics of the flat Earth idea, such as astronomer Danny R. Faulkner, are [[young Earth creationists]] and attempt to explain away the Bible's supposed flat Earth language.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Branch |first=Glenn |authorlink=Glenn Branch |date=July–August 2020 |title=Flat-Earthery Will Get You Nowhere |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/06/flat-earthery-will-get-you-nowhere/ |url-status= |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003202205/https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/06/flat-earthery-will-get-you-nowhere/ |archive-date=3 October 2020 |access-date=24 March 2021}}</ref>

On 3 May 2018, [[Steven Novella]] analysed the modern belief in a flat Earth, and concluded that, despite what most people think about the subject, the believers are being sincere in their belief that Earth is flat, and are not "just saying that to wind us up". He stated that:
{{Blockquote|text= In the end that is the core malfunction of the flat-earthers, and the modern populist rejection of expertise in general. It is a horrifically simplistic view of the world that ignores (partly out of ignorance, and partly out of [[motivated reasoning]]) to{{sic}} real complexities of our civilisation. It is ultimately lazy, childish, and self-indulgent, resulting in a profound level of ignorance drowning in motivated reasoning.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Novella|first1=Steven|author-link1=Steven Novella|title=What the Flat-Earth Movement Tells Us|url=https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/what-the-flat-earth-movement-tells-us/|website=TheNess.com|publisher=NESS|access-date=5 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505031721/https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/what-the-flat-earth-movement-tells-us/|archive-date=5 May 2018|date=3 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The British sceptical activist [[Michael Marshall (skeptic)|Michael Marshall]] attended the annual Flat Earth UK Convention on 27–29 April 2018 and noted disagreement on several views among believers in a flat Earth. To Marshall, one of the most telling moments at the convention was the "Flat Earth Addiction" test that was based on a checklist used to determine whether someone is in a [[cult]], without the convention attendees realising the possibility of themselves being in a cult.<ref name=Marshall2018conference/>

===Beliefs===
Based on the speakers at the 2018 UK's Flat Earth UK Convention, believers in a flat Earth vary widely in their views. While most agree upon a disc-shaped Earth, some are convinced that Earth is diamond-shaped. Furthermore, while most believers do not believe in [[outer space]] and none believe humans have ever travelled there, they vary widely in their views of the universe.<ref name=Marshall2018conference>{{cite news |last1=Marshall |first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Marshall (skeptic) |title=The universe is an egg and the moon isn't real: notes from a Flat Earth conference |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2018/may/02/the-universe-is-an-egg-and-the-moon-isnt-real-notes-from-a-flat-earth-conference |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=16 September 2018|date=2 May 2018}}</ref> (Flat Earth International Conferences, organized by Robbie Davidson, are unaffiliated with the Flat Earth Society. According to Davidson, the "Earth is ... a stationary plane, with the sun, moon, and stars inside a dome", while the Flat Earth Society promotes a model in which Earth is "a disk flying through space", and which Davidson finds "incredibly ridiculous".)<ref name="Burdick-Looking-2018"/>

Filmmakers of ''Behind the Curve'' attended another flat Earth conference at which a substantial number of people believed that Earth was an infinite plane, potentially with more continents beyond the purported circular ice wall of Antarctica. 
Members of the Flat Earth Society and other flat-Earthers claim that NASA and other government agencies conspire to fabricate evidence that Earth is spherical.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Wolchover|first=Natalie|date=30 May 2017|title=Are Flat-Earthers Being Serious?|url=https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508235829/https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html|archive-date=8 May 2021|access-date=17 January 2019|website=Live Science}}</ref> According to the most widely spread version of current flat-Earth theory, NASA is guarding the Antarctic ice wall that surrounds Earth.<ref name=":1" /> Flat-Earthers argue that NASA [[Photo manipulation|manipulates]] and fabricates its [[Satellite imagery|satellite images]], based on observations that the color of the oceans changes from image to image and that continents seem to be in different places.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Moshakis|first=Alex|date=2018-05-27|title=Is the Earth flat? Meet the people questioning science|language=en-GB|work=The Observer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/may/27/is-the-earth-pancake-flat-among-the-flat-earthers-conspiracy-theories-fake-news|url-status=live|access-date=2019-01-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308185255/https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/may/27/is-the-earth-pancake-flat-among-the-flat-earthers-conspiracy-theories-fake-news|archive-date=8 March 2021|issn=0029-7712}}</ref> The publicly perpetuated image is kept up through a large-scale practice of "compartmentalization", according to which only a select number of individuals have knowledge about the truth.<ref name="Burdick-Looking-2018"/>

Research by Carlos Diaz Ruiz and Tomas Nilsson on the arguments that flat Earthers wield, shows three factions, each one subscribing to its own set of beliefs.<ref name="sagepub">{{Cite journal |last1=Diaz Ruiz |first1=Carlos |last2=Nilsson |first2=Tomas |date=16 May 2022 |title=Disinformation and Echo Chambers: How Disinformation Circulates in Social Media Through Identity-Driven Controversies |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/07439156221103852 |journal=Journal of Public Policy & Marketing |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=18–35 |doi=10.1177/07439156221103852 |s2cid=248934562|doi-access=free }}</ref>
 
The first faction subscribes to a faith-based conflict in which atheists use science to suppress the Christian faith. Their argument is that atheists use pseudo-science – evolution, [[Big Bang]], and the round Earth – to make people believe that God is an abstract idea, not real. Instead, their arguments use the Scripture – word-by-word – to support an argument that enables God to really exist. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as revelatory.<ref name="sagepub"/> (For example, a literal interpretation of [[Revelation 7]] — "I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth ..." — indicates Earth must have four corners.) This is in spite of the fact that a circular flat earth would also not have corners, contradicting the central model of flat earth. This contradiction seems to imply that God created a 2D quadrilateral or 3D tetrahedral earth. 

The second faction believes in an overarching conspiracy for knowledge suppression. Building upon the premise that knowledge is power, the flat Earth conspiracy argues that a shadowy group of "elites" control knowledge to remain in power. In their view, lying about the fundamental nature of Earth primes the population to believe a host of other conspiracies. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as liberatory.<ref name="sagepub"/>

The third faction believes that knowledge is personal and experiential. They are dismissive of knowledge that comes from authoritative sources, especially book knowledge. This faction would like to find out themselves whether Earth truly is round or flat. Because they distrust book knowledge and mathematical proof, this faction believes that Earth is flat because their observations and lived experiences make it appear that Earth is a flat surface. This faction frames flat-Earth arguments as experimental.<ref name="sagepub"/>

Fellow flat earthers are not exempt from distrust and belief that they may be in cahoots with round earthers. In ''Behind the Curve'', conference attendees were warned against attending by Math Powerland, also known as Matt Boylan, who posted videos alleging others were working for the CIA or Warner Brothers. At the 2017 Flat Earth conference:

{{blockquote|[S]everal speakers made reference to "shills" within the community, people purporting to espouse the theory but who in fact belong to some deep-state counterintelligence program aimed at making the movement seem laughable. In 2016, [Eric Dubay], of the "200 Proofs" video, called out [[Mark Sargent (flat Earth proponent)|Mark Sargent]], Jeran Campanella, and other figures as "suspected controlled opposition shills," and last year in a radio interview he called the November conference a "shill-fest." Even the flat-Earth bureaucracy is suspect. At the end of the conference's second day, a panelist mentioned a plan to set up a nonprofit to carry on the work. This brought a rebuke from a woman in the audience. "You had me up until I heard the gentleman say, 'The reason we had to scramble to get the [[501(c)(3)]],{{' "}} she said. "In my research, I found out that's a [[Lucifer]]ian contract."<ref name="Burdick-Looking-2018"/>}}

===Social and experimental activities of skeptics and believers===
[[Skeptical movement|Organisations sceptical of fringe beliefs]] have occasionally performed tests to demonstrate the local curvature of Earth. One of these, conducted by members of the Independent Investigations Group of the [[Center for Inquiry]], at the [[Salton Sea]] on 10 June 2018 was attended also by supporters of a flat Earth, and the encounter between the two groups was recorded by the [[National Geographic Explorer]]. This experiment successfully demonstrated the curvature of Earth via the disappearance over distance of boat-based and shore-based targets. IIG founder Jim Underdown reported that the flat Earth supporters in attendance immediately rejected the results, denying the validity of the demonstration after the fact, and the discussion degenerated into tangents about [[Moon landing conspiracy theories]] and alleged NASA cover-ups.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Underdown |first1=James |author-link1=James Underdown |title=Commentary: The Salton Sea Flat Earth Test: When Skeptics Meet Deniers |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |date=2018 |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=14–15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Underdown |first1=Jim |author-link1=James Underdown |title=The Salton Sea Flat Earth Test: When Skeptics Meet Deniers |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_salton_sea_flat_earth_test_when_skeptics_meet_deniers |website=CSICOP.org |publisher=CFI |access-date=24 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224135255/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_salton_sea_flat_earth_test_when_skeptics_meet_deniers |archive-date=24 February 2019|url-status=live|date=November 2018 }}</ref>

The 2018 documentary ''Behind the Curve'' followed two groups of American flat Earth believers who were attempting to gather first-hand empirical proof for that belief. One group from the YouTube show GlobeBusters used a [[ring laser gyroscope]] in an attempt to show that Earth was not rotating. Instead, they detected the actual 15-degree-per-hour rotation of Earth, a measurement they dismissed as corrupted by the device somehow picking up the rotation of the "[[firmament]]". Another group used lasers in an attempt to show a several-mile stretch of water is perfectly flat by measuring the distance between the water level and the laser beam along three vertical posts. They were unable to align the beam as they expected to because the surface of the still water was in fact bent by several feet over the distance measured; the experiment was dismissed as inconclusive.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ_zDG6zL58 |title=Behind the Curve |date=2018-12-16 |last=YouTube Movies |access-date=2025-05-15 |via=YouTube}}</ref> Similar experiments involving lasers projected across a long, flat surface are deemed unreliable due to not taking into account atmospheric refraction and the divergence of light.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fertel |first=Isabella |title=Fact check: Laser beam tests done over water are skewed by refraction, don't prove Earth is flat |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/07/fact-check-false-claim-laser-tests-prove-earth-flat/10821382002/ |access-date=2025-11-06 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Do laser tests prove the Earth is flat? |url=https://www.spacecentre.nz/resources/faq/solar-system/earth/flat/laser-test.html |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=www.spacecentre.nz}}</ref>

''Behind the Curve'' illustrated how flat Earth believers rely on poorly-verified claims. Mark Sargent claimed to have watched [[flightaware.com]] for a very long time to check if any flights traveled between continents in the southern hemisphere, which in his disc model would be much further apart than they are on the globe. He stated that he saw no such flights, and took this as evidence for the disc model. Caltech astrophysicist Hannalore Gerling-Dunsmore went to the site and immediately found flights that contradicted Sargent's claims.<ref>starting at around 11 minutes. {{cite web |title=Behind the Curve |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ_zDG6zL58 |website=YouTube |access-date=31 July 2023 |date=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://flightaware.com/ |access-date=11 Feb 2022 |title=Real-time Worldwide Flight Traffic}} (Gerling-Dunsmore's claims were verified on this date at 03:30 UTC, though not all flights were visible when fully zoomed out - a possible source of confusion.)</ref>

Optical illusions of sufficiently translucent clouds appearing to "pass" behind the [[Sun]] due to the insufficient contrast sunlight directly in front of the [[Sun]] produces have been recorded on video and also used by flat-earthers to try to show that the [[Sun]] isn't in [[outer space]] and the Earth is flat.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-24 |title=Fact check: Clouds can appear behind the sun in photos due to optical illusion |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-clouds-appear-behind-011434427.html |access-date=2025-10-18 |website=USA TODAY via Yahoo News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Images and videos of clouds passing behind the sun are optical illusions, not proof of ‘local sun’ orbiting ‘flat earth’ |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/fact-check/images-and-videos-of-clouds-passing-behind-the-sun-are-optical-illusions-not-pr-idUSL1N3240RG/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240621225249/https://www.reuters.com/article/fact-check/images-and-videos-of-clouds-passing-behind-the-sun-are-optical-illusions-not-pr-idUSL1N3240RG/ |archive-date=2024-06-21 |access-date=2025-10-18 |work=Reuters |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[solar eclipse of 21 August 2017]] gave rise to numerous YouTube videos purporting to show how the details of the eclipse prove that Earth is flat.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Sean |date=15 August 2017 |title='The sun hologram needs updating' This is how flat earthers explain the solar eclipse |url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/841400/solar-eclipse-flat-earth-conspiracy-theory-reddit |access-date=19 August 2017 |work=Daily Express}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Hickey |first1=Brian |date=17 August 2017 |title=What do flat Earthers think about Monday's solar eclipse? |url=http://www.phillyvoice.com/ask-hickey-what-are-flat-earthers-saying-about-mondays-eclipse/ |access-date=19 August 2017 |website=Phillyvoice.com |publisher=Philly Voice}}</ref> 

In 2017, "the Tunisian and Arab scientific and educational world" had a scandal when a Ph.D. student at the [[University of Sfax]] in [[Tunisia]] submitted a [[University of Sfax#Flat Earth controversy|Ph.D. dissertation]] "declaring Earth to be flat, unmoving, young (only 13,500 years of age), and the centre of the universe".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Guessoum|first1=Nidhal|title=PhD thesis: The earth is flat|url=http://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/phd-thesis-the-earth-is-flat-1.2009202|work=Gulf News|date=10 April 2017 |access-date=19 August 2017}}</ref> In 2018, astronomer [[Yaël Nazé]] analyzed the controversy over the dissertation. The dissertation, which had not been approved by the committee overseeing environmental studies theses, had been made public and denounced in 2017 by Hafedh Ateb, a founder of the Tunisian Astronomical Society, on his Facebook page.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nazé |first1=Yaël |author-link=Yaël Nazé |title=A Doctoral Dissertation on a Geocentric Flat Earth: 'Zetetic' Astronomy at the University Level |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2018 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=12–14}}</ref>

In March 2019, social media personality [[Logan Paul]] released a satirical documentary film about the flat Earth called ''FLAT EARTH: To The Edge And Back''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Logan |first=Paul |title=Flat Earth: To The Edge And Back (Official Movie)|date=20 March 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpljiOgd9RQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/vpljiOgd9RQ| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|access-date=1 July 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/22/18277131/logan-paul-flat-earth-conspiracy-youtube-recommendation-algorithm|title=Logan Paul's satirical flat Earth doc gets to the heart of YouTube's recommendation issue|last=Alexander|first=Julia|date=22 March 2019|website=The Verge|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mashable.com/article/logan-paul-doesnt-actually-think-the-earth-is-flat-movie/|title=Good news everyone, Logan Paul doesn't actually think the Earth is flat|last=Sung|first=Morgan|website=Mashable|date=21 March 2019|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref>

On December 14, 2024, retired businessman and pastor Will Duffy paid to bring believers in the concept of a flat earth to [[Union Glacier Camp]] in Antarctica for them to witness day-long illumination. While his guests had to concede they witnessed the midnight sun in Antarctica, not all of them accepted on the spot that Earth is a sphere.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iflscience.com/flat-earthers-travel-to-antarctica-to-test-theories-but-are-quickly-humbled-77254 |title=Flat-Earthers Travel To Antarctica To Test Theories, But Are Quickly Humbled |author=Tom Hale |publication-date=December 17, 2024 |publisher=[[LabX Media Group|IFLScience]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=While most of the Flat Earthers didn’t consider the experience definitive proof that the Earth is spherical, they accepted the existence of the 24-hour Sun in Antarctica – a phenomenon that poses significant challenges for most of their flat Earth theories. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/flat-earthers-befuddled-visit-antarctica-191030416.html |title=Flat Earthers Befuddled as They Visit Antarctica and Earth Appears to Be Round |author=Noor Al-Sibai |publication-date=December 18, 2024 |publisher=[[Yahoo News|Yahoo! News]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=After a pastor took a group of Flat Earthers to Antarctica to prove definitively what shape our planet is, some of the truthers were startled to find that the globe is indeed round. (...) While the trip did seem to persuade at least one prominent Flat Earther that his beliefs were wrong, another of the conspiracy-theorizing Arctic voyagers was less convinced. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/sometimes-you-are-wrong-flat-earthers-admit-defeat-after-seeing-24hour-antarctica-sun/news-story/0bc1d6b85396c04e163ba1a1b5b7bb21 |title=‘Sometimes you are wrong’: Flat earthers admit defeat after seeing 24-hour Antarctica sun |author=Frank Chung |publication-date=December 19, 2024 |publisher=[[News.com.au]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=A group of popular flat earth YouTubers have admitted defeat against the ‘globers’ after taking a trip to Antarctica to witness the 24-hour sun. (...) No flat earthers had ever been to Antarctica — a popular conspiracy theory was that the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 prevented them from going, specifically in summer, lest they discover the truth. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/flat-earthers-went-to-antarctica-to-look-at-the-sun-heres-what-happened |title=Flat Earthers Went to Antarctica to Look at The Sun. Here's What Happened. |author=Mike McRae |publication-date=December 20, 2024 |publisher=[[ScienceAlert]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=In a surprise conclusion to a project dubbed The Final Experiment, several well-known believers in a non-spherical Earth have had a change of heart. (...) Belief formation is a complex task for human brains, though, combining experiences shared by those we trust with a dusting of our own perceptions to construct personal stories that don't just explain what we see, but fit with what we value.<br>As an exercise in trust-building and a demonstration of the value in putting our firmest convictions to the test when given a chance, Duffy's 'Final Experiment' ought to be anything but final.}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baptistnews.com/article/when-flat-earthers-and-creationists-find-common-ground/ |title=When flat earthers and creationists find common ground |author=Rick Pidcock |publication-date=December 29, 2024 |publisher=[[Baptist News Global]] |access-date=January 6, 2024 |quote=It was hyped as “The Final Experiment.” Led by pastor Will Duffy of Agape Kingdom Fellowship in Wheat Ridge, Colo., a group of people who believed in a flat earth and others who believed in a global earth traveled to Union Glacier, Antarctica, together on Dec. 14 with the desire “to end the debate over the shape of the earth.” (...) Of course, the easy response here would be to get a good laugh out of flat earthers grappling with their model being proved wrong and then feel thankful for Duffy and whoever has been promoting him putting on the event. But a closer look at who is promoting the experiment provides a much more complex set of concerns. (...) In this holiday season, many of us are gathering with family members who have drastically different scientific, political or theological views than us. Those differences cannot be ignored, nor the consequences minimized.<br>But despite the fact I personally think everyone involved in this “Final Experiment” has significant scientific, political and theological problems, there was something deeply human in their togetherness that is worth noting. (...) }}</ref>

==== Mike Hughes ====
{{Main|Mike Hughes (daredevil)}}

[[Mike Hughes (daredevil)|Mike Hughes]], a daredevil/stuntman, planned to use a homebuilt crewed rocket to reach outer space.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/flat-earther-mad-mike-hughes-rocket-launch-man-blasts-off-a8272761.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/flat-earther-mad-mike-hughes-rocket-launch-man-blasts-off-a8272761.html |archive-date=15 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Flat-earther blasts off in homemade rocket in bid to reassure himself world is shaped 'like a Frisbee'|date=25 March 2018|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref>
In a practice flight on 22 February 2020, the early deployment and separation of the return parachute allowed his rocket to fall unimpeded from an altitude of several hundred feet, killing him instantly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencealert.com/infamous-flat-earth-daredevil-dies-in-crash-in-california|title=Infamous Daredevil 'Mad' Mike Hughes Has Died in Homemade Rocket Crash in California|website=ScienceAlert|date=23 February 2020 |language=en-gb|access-date=23 February 2020}}</ref>

After Hughes' death, his public relations representative Darren Shuster stated that Hughes "didn't believe in flat Earth" and that it was "a PR stunt" to get publicity,<ref>{{cite news |last=Steadman |first=Otillia |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/mad-mike-hughes-rocket-death-flat-earth |title=A Daredevil Flat Earther Died After Attempting To Launch Himself 5,000 Feet With A Homemade Rocket |date=24 February 2020 |work=BuzzFeed News |access-date=13 August 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ortiz |first=Aimee |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/us/mad-mike-hughes-dead.html |title=Mike Hughes, 64, D.I.Y. Daredevil, Is Killed in Rocket Crash |date=23 February 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=13 August 2021 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> while Michael Linn, who worked on the documentary ''Rocketman: Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat-Earth'', said that Hughes' belief appeared genuine.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wigglesworth |first=Alex |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-24/mad-mike-hughes-death-of-rocketman-ends-years-of-close-calls |title=Death of rocket man 'Mad Mike' Hughes ends years of close calls |date=24 February 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=13 August 2021 |language=en-US |issn=2165-1736}}</ref>

===Social consequences and responses===
''Behind the Curve''{{'}}s filmmakers spoke with several people who said that as a result of their flat Earth beliefs they had lost romantic partners and no longer spoke to many friends and family. One said he was tired of being told he was an idiot. The Facebook group Flat Earth Match is a dating site used by some to find romantic partners who share these beliefs. Experts pointed out that after social ties to people outside the flat Earth community are lost, one consequence of abandoning the flat Earth belief would be loss of all remaining relationships.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

Caltech physicist Spiros Michaelakis stated that instead of denigrating flat Earthers, scientists should do a better job of teaching scientific facts. Various scientific and medical experts in the documentary supported improving [[scientific literacy]] and avoiding marginalization of flat Earthers. They pointed out that people who distrust all of science, including truths about vaccines, evolution, and climate change, would make poorly informed decisions, and that people who do not exercise the skill of [[critical thinking]] can be easily manipulated. They also pointed out that some believers were motivated to spread false ideas, and that because these ideas are unconstrained by facts they can mutate and become less harmless than a mere belief about the shape of Earth.<ref>''[[Behind the Curve]]'', starting around 1 hour, 8 minutes</ref>

=== Prevalence ===
In 2020, it was reported that based on polling by [[Datafolha]], 7% of Brazilians believed in a flat Earth.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Brazil |first=Rachel |date=2020-07-14 |title=Fighting flat-Earth theory |url=https://physicsworld.com/fighting-flat-earth-theory/ |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Physics World |language=en-GB}}</ref> A 2018 YouGov poll found that around 4% of the population of the United States believed in flat Earth,<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 February 2018 |title=Do you believe that the world is round or flat? |url=https://today.yougov.com/opi/live_survey_results/6147e107-0a97-11e8-b216-d9ff14e72543/question/cecf46a6-0a97-11e8-bd7b-c532039a14a0/toplines/ |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=YouGov}}</ref> while the POLES 2021 Survey found around 10% of the United States population believed that Earth is flat.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-21 |title=Conspiracy vs. Science: A Survey of U.S. Public Beliefs |url=https://carsey.unh.edu/publication/conspiracy-vs-science-survey-us-public-beliefs |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Carsey School of Public Policy |language=en}}</ref> A 2019 YouGov survey found that around 3% of British people supported flat Earth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Which science-based conspiracy theories do Britons believe? {{!}} YouGov |url=https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/22839-which-science-based-conspiracy-theories-do-britons |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=yougov.co.uk |language=en-gb}}</ref>

==The term "flat-Earther"==
The term ''flat-Earth-man'', used in a derogatory sense to mean anyone who holds ridiculously antiquated or impossible views, predates the more compact ''flat-earther''. It was recorded in 1908: "Fewer votes than one would have thought possible for any human candidate, were he even a flat-earth-man."<ref>
{{cite book|first=George B. |last=Shaw|title=Fabian Essays on Socialism (new ed.)|page=xviii|date=1908|url=https://archive.org/stream/fabianessaysins00olivgoog#page/n25/mode/2up|publisher=Ball}}
</ref> According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the first use of the term ''flat-Earther'' was in 1934 in ''[[Punch (magazine)|Punch]]'' magazine: "Without being a bigoted flat-earther, [Mercator] perceived the nuisance&nbsp;... of fiddling about with globes&nbsp;... in order to discover the South Seas."<ref>
{{cite encyclopedia|title=Flat-Earth|dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/71171?redirectedFrom=flat-earther#eid118363999|access-date=July 29, 2013}}
</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Earth|Religion|Society}}
* [[Empirical evidence for the spherical shape of Earth]]
* [[Figure of Earth]]
* [[Geodesy]]
* [[Hollow Earth]]
* [[Young Earth creationism]]
* [[:Category:Flat Earth proponents]]

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{reflist|30em}}

===References===
*{{cite book|last=Garwood|first=Christine|title=Flat Earth: the History of an infamous idea|publisher=Macmillan|date=2007}}
*{{cite news|title=These Coloradans say Earth is flat. And gravity's a hoax. Now they're being persecuted|periodical=The Denver Post|date=7 July 2017|first=Graham|last=Ambrose|url=https://denverpost.com/2017/07/07/colorado-earth-flat-gravity-hoax}}
* Valenzuela, S. (19 April 2019). History's most famous Flat Earth believers: Athletes, celebrities, and ancient Greeks. Retrieved 3 March 2020
* Lewis, D. (2016, January 28). The curious history of the International Flat Earth Society. ''Smithsonian Magazine''. <nowiki>https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/curious-history-international-flat-earth-society-180957969/</nowiki>

==Further reading==
===Scientific sources===
* [[Raymond Fraser]] (2007). ''When The Earth Was Flat: Remembering Leonard Cohen, Alden Nowlan, the Flat Earth Society, the King James monarchy hoax, the Montreal Story Tellers and other curious matters.'' Black Moss Press, {{ISBN|978-0-88753-439-3}}
* Christine Garwood (2007) ''Flat Earth: The History of an Infamous Idea'', Pan Books, {{ISBN|1-4050-4702-X}}

===Flat Earth believers===
* {{cite book |title=Firmament: Vaulted Dome of the Earth |year=2016 |author=Zen Garcia |publisher=[[Lulu.com]] ([[self-publishing]] platform) |isbn=9781365073847}} Arguments based on Christian Bible and related writings.
* {{cite book |title=The Greatest Lie on Earth (Expanded Edition): Proof That Our World Is Not a Moving Globe |edition=10th Expanded |year=2018 |author=Edward Hendrie |publisher=Great Mountain Publishing (self-published brand) |isbn=978-1943056057 }} Christian basis.

==External links==
* [http://theflatearthsociety.org/home/ The Flat Earth Society (2004/2009)]
* [https://www.tfes.org/ The Flat Earth Society (2013)]
* [http://ifers.123.st/ The International Flat Earth Research Society]
* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/offensiveearth/ The Modern Day Flat Earth Community]
* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/SciRefGuides/flatearth.html References to The Flat Earth Society] by the [[Library of Congress]]
* [https://www.theguardian.com/global/2010/feb/23/flat-earth-society Article on Daniel Shenton]
* [https://www.echalk.co.uk/Science/physics/solarSystem/InteractiveEarth/interactiveEarth.html 3D Interactive Earth Globe]
* [https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/07/fact-check-roundup-what-scientists-say-flat-earth-evidence/10802218002/ USA Today: Fact check roundup: Debunking the flawed science behind flat Earth claims]
* {{Gutenberg |no=69892 |title=Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe!}}
* {{Internet Archive |id=zeteticastronom00rowbgoog |name=Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe!}}
* [http://www.sacred-texts.com/earth/za/ Full text of ''Zetetic Astronomy: Earth Not a Globe!'' at Internet Sacred Texts Archive]

{{Conspiracy theories}}
{{Pseudoscience}}

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[[Category:Flat Earth|*]]
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