Crackpot ‘Flat Earthers’ think stunning Nasa photo of Earth from ISS is FAKE and ‘photoshopped’
NUTTY conspiracy theorists have falsely claimed that a photo of Earth snapped by Nasa is a fake.
The image, taken by astronaut Doug Hurley, shows the smooth curvature of our planet as viewed from the International Space Station.
Posting the photo to Twitter on Wednesday, Doug revealed he “never gets tired” of the view from the station’s observation deck.
While response to the tweet was overwhelmingly positive, a handful of nutty “flat Earther” conspiracy theorists inevitably chimed in.
Fat Earthers believe our planet is shaped like a disc rather than a sphere – a baseless theory that has been condemned by countless scientists.
Clearly not convinced by Doug’s photo, one wacky Twitter user replied: “This is a lie, we all know the Earth is flat.”
Another tweeted: “Do NASA make you photoshop the earths curvature in before you send, or do they do it in post production? We all know it’s flat!”
However, not everyone was quite so sceptical, with many praising the breathtaking beauty of the shot.
One user replied: “I don’t think I could ever get tired of just the photo. So beautiful and breathtaking. Thank you for sharing. Stay safe and god speed.”
Flat Earth theories have been widely discredited for centuries.
Flat Earth – the key facts
Here's what you need to know...
- The Flat Earth model is an outdated and disproven view that Earth is a flat plane or disk
- Flat Earth theories were widely believed throughout Ancient Greece, the Bronze Age and Iron Age, and even through to the 17th century in China
- The idea of a spherical Earth first appeared with Pyhtagoras in the 6th century BC, and Aristotle provided evidence for the theory in 330 BC
- Earth’s spherical shape is now proven and has been widely documented by scientists around the world
- Internet conspiracy theories have led to a modern resurgence in Flat Earth belief
- Social media sites like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter have struggled to limit the reach of these disproven theories
But the rise of the internet and social media has allowed conspiracy theories to flourish.
Nasa has previously explained why all the scientific evidence points to a spherical Earth.
The agency said: “Today, scientists use geodesy, which is the science of measuring Earth’s shape, gravity and rotation.
“Geodesy provides accurate measurements that show Earth is round. With GPS and other satellites, scientists can measure Earth’s size and shape to within a centimeter.
“Pictures from space also show Earth is round like the moon.”
Most read in Science
In other news, YouTube recently banned all 5G conspiracy theory videos from its platform.
Social media platforms have been inundated with bots trying to spread fake health news.
And, here are some of the most bizarre Area 51 conspiracy theories.
Have you ever been fooled by an online conspiracy theory? Let us know in the comments!
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at tech@the-sun.co.uk