A third of Americans polled by YouGov believe the Earth is flat. In fact, a recent YouGov poll found that only around two-thirds of Americans aged between 18 and 24 believe that the Earth is round.Īlthough the idea the Earth is flat has been scientifically discredited, there seems to be a growing belief in the conspiracy theory. Lately, the flat-Earthers have latched on to a particular idea that is gaining traction in the community: You’ve been lied to about the position of the sun in the sky It cannot be 93 million miles away, for it is no higher than the clouds I have proof.If you type ‘flat Earth’ into Google, you’d be joining a group of people that have helped to triple the search term over the last couple of years. They are constantly searching for new evidence - something to point to and say, “See, I was right.” They’re wrong, but they’re not crazy. But being stuck in a certain way of thinking is quite different from not thinking at all, and flat-Earthers do a great deal of mental gymnastics to prop up their untenable theory. Those photos of Earth from space are doctored and released by NASA in a grand conspiracy to keep the planet’s most basic secret.įlat Earthers are victims of a very powerful confirmation bias, which allows them to mentally discard data that doesn’t fit a pre-existing worldview.

There are no pictures at the edge of the flat Earth because it is encircled by the great icy mass of Antarctica, which is guarded by NASA.

The internet is a strange place, with few corners stranger than the one where people legitimately believe that the Earth is flat, and that the vast majority of humans have been trapped by an enormous conspiracy to keep us from the truth.įrom this perspective, the world is flat because it appears to be so.

Sun movement along flat earth