Not considering the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, some people still believe in the idea that the Earth is flat. Recently, some proponents of this belief have questioned why people and cities don't fall off the "bottom" of the Earth.
Despite this, mainstream media outlets such as USA Today continue to address and debunk these baseless claims, which are often shared through social media platforms in the form of poorly spelled memes. One such meme suggests that it is "scientifically impossiball" for the island of Manhattan to remain suspended "upside down" without falling into space.
The idea that the Earth is a sphere dates back to ancient Greece, and since then, scientists have gathered a vast amount of evidence to support this idea. This includes observations made from space. Despite this, some people continue to believe that the Earth is flat. It is thought that the persistence of these beliefs may be due, in part, to the spread of misinformation on social media platforms.
Debunking Flat Earthers Claim
According to Jeffery Blevins, a professor at the University of Cincinnati who focuses on misinformation, there is a self-reinforcing cycle of misinformation. When a false claim is made by a single source and then repeated on social media and other fringe outlets, it may seem like the claim is being supported by multiple sources. This can lead people to mistakenly believe that there is some truth to the claim. This sensation is commonly described as the "echo chamber" outcome.
A Facebook post featuring a photo of an upside-down city was shared more than 100 times in less than three weeks. The text accompanying the post claimed that it was "scientifically impossiball" for a city to be upside down without falling into space. However, this claim is incorrect. In reality, there is no inherent "up" or "down" in space, and gravity causes objects to be pulled towards the center of the Earth, giving us the sensation of being upright. The photo in the post has also been altered. These types of false claims continue to circulate on social media and other outlets, leading some people to mistakenly believe in the idea of a flat Earth.
David Brown, a physics professor at North Carolina State University, explained that there is no absolute "up" or "down" in space. Near Earth or any other planet or star, the direction that is "up" is always opposite the direction of the gravitational force. This means that "down" is always towards the center of the Earth.
As a result, the Earth, like any sphere, does not have a fixed top or bottom. Instead, people experience the sensation of "up" and "down" concerning the core of the Earth. This helps to explain why people and cities do not fall off the "bottom" of the Earth, as some proponents of the flat Earth theory might suggest.
Gravitational Weight of Truth
Brown added that gravity pulls us towards the surface of the Earth, so no matter where we are on the spherical Earth, we are attracted toward its center. This is true in Antarctica, Australia, and North America, among other places. If the Earth were flat, people would still experience a gravitational pull toward the center of the flat disk. This would mean that people on the "edge" of the flat Earth would fall sideways.
The photo in the Facebook post has also been manipulated, according to Siwei Lyu, a digital forensic expert at the University of Buffalo. The image shows the Earth curving sharply on the sides, even though it only depicts a single city. This distortion is not possible at the altitude shown in the photo. These factors all help to demonstrate that the claim made in the Facebook post is incorrect.
Unfortunately, some people continue to believe in the idea of a flat Earth despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. It seems that these individuals are willing to ignore scientific evidence and the laws of physics, such as gravity, to hold on to their beliefs. This highlights the importance of critical thinking and being open to evidence-based explanations for natural phenomena.
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