Flat Earth

Did all rivers on Earth "commence" in the spring of 2399 B.C.? No, that's not true: The birth of the oldest rivers predates this point in time by millions of years, according to the consensus of earth science. A U.S. Geological Survey scientist confirmed that to Lead Stories. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on Facebook on June…

Does a video on social media capture a meteor over Budapest, Hungary, in July 2024? No, that's not true: The original video was taken during mass protests in the Hungarian capital on February 16, 2024 and other videos from the event do not show any meteor. People's outfits were much more consistent with winter weather than with midsummer temperatures in…

Are volcanos petrified dragon remnants that "sometimes bubble up," as a post on social media claims? No, that's not true: Volcanos are openings in the earth's surface through which molten rock, gases and ash escape. Dragons -- defined as giant, flying, fire-beathing creatures -- do not exist in real life. The account that created this post says it's satire and…

Did Universal Studios first introduce the concept of the world as a globe in 1927 before NASA had photographed it from space in the 1960s? No, that's not true on several counts: It did not take NASA's space program to discover that the Earth was round. Greek philosophers had already described the Earth as a sphere as early as the…

Does a "leaked photo" authentically show a "city on the other side of the ice at Antarctica," as a post on Facebook claimed? No, that's not true: The image was created using artificial intelligence, based on the results of three image analysis tools used by Lead Stories. Many conspiracy theorists use the ice wall argument to make unfounded arguments, such…

Does the Coriolis effect fail to affect aircraft trajectory, which proves that the Earth is flat, as is implied in a video shared on social media? No, that's not true: A professor emeritus of physics and astronomy told Lead Stories that "the Coriolis effect is, of course, well known and thoroughly analyzed." Though airplanes experience Coriolis force, it is "pretty…

Is the site known as Giant's Causeway on the coast of Northern Ireland actually a giant petrified armadillo, visible from the air? No, that's not true: The unusual geometric rock formations seen at Giant's Causeway are basalt columns, which, according to experts, take their shape from the way molten volcanic basalt lava shrinks as it cools. Some stone surfaces resemble…

Does footage on social media show Israelis panicking and running after Iranian missiles and drones hit Israel's airspace April 13, 2024? No, that's not true: The footage had already been on social media for a week when Iran attacked Israel. It shows a crowd running on April 6, 2024 toward the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where former…

Do long-distance photos, showing things up to hundreds of miles away, provide evidence that the Earth is not curved? No, that's not true: Photos of faraway objects might appear flat because of Earth's large size, not because Earth itself is flat. While the Earth's surface does curve in these photos, it may not be noticeable due to the vast scale…

Do "practical calculations" prove that the United Nations grossly overestimates the size of the world's total population? No, that's not true: The claim derives from a flat-earther's speculations. They ignore the fact that people living in rural areas in India account for two-thirds of the country's overall population. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Instagram on February…