Flat Earth

Does a rail gun's ability to "hit a target 100 miles away in a perfectly straight line" prove that the Earth is "missing curvature"? No, that's not true: Such claims are "absurd" and "completely nuts," two physicists told Lead Stories. That's because rail guns fire projectiles that are subject to the same laws of gravity as all other objects on…

Does the 93-million-mile vacuum separating the Earth from the sun prevent the latter from heating our planet? No, that's not true: A University of California, Berkeley physicist told Lead Stories that the claim is "completely false." The sun's energy is transmitted through electromagnetic radiation, including visible light and infrared radiation, which can travel through space without the need for a…

Did NASA and the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) stage a live stream video pretending to be in zero gravity on board the ISS, and was this hoax betrayed by a blooper where a ball printed like a globe fell to the floor as if under the force of Earth's gravity? No, that's not true: This video shows…

Do potential methane emissions expelled by wild bison populations compare with levels expelled by domestic cows in the U.S. and beyond? No, that's not true: Global populations of bison total less than half a million compared with 1.5 billion cows. An expert in biological systems engineering and agriculture told Lead Stories that the claim's comparison is arbitrary as it does…

Did "Science Guy" Bill Nye state that there was "no place to go" in reference to space exploration, seeming to support claims that NASA, the International Space Station (ISS) and related space exploration programs were a hoax? No, that's not true: In a 2015 interview, Nye responded to a question involving the concept of whether trash should be sent to…

Was CNN anchor Larry Madowo "threatened on live TV" by a Ugandan government minister? No, that's not true: An authentic interview between CNN One World's Larry Madowo and Ugandan Foreign Minister Gen. Jeje Odongo that aired on August 24, 2021, discussed whether Uganda's citizens were being tried for treasonous acts. Two days later, the entertainment YouTube channel EduTV KE posted…

Did Polish astronaut Miroslaw Hermaszewski admit in a 2018 interview that that the Earth is flat? No, that's not true: The claim takes his remarks out of context -- it was an apparent joke aimed at flat-earthers and demonstrating obvious annoyance with an interviewer's questions. Elements of his descriptions of his space mission, later in the interview, are consistent with…

Does a video on social media portray "a hidden world of underground cities" and "tunnels for trafficking"? No, that's not true: The clip shows the Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland. The claim originated in a video (archived here) posted on TikTok on May 28, 2023. The text overlay said: There Is a Hidden World of Underground Cities Tunnels for Trafficking!?…

Did Elon Musk promote a brand of sea moss as a remedy to help a variety of health issues? No, that's not true: This video footage that appears to show Musk volunteering an endorsement during an interview is fake. The clip was taken from an appearance at the TED2022 conference, where Musk discussed purchasing Twitter and other topics but did…

Does a video shared on social media show "leaked footage of our flat Earth from 1977"? No, that's not true: A 22-second clip that was first posted to TikTok in February 2023 was created by a satirical account that uses computer-generated imagery (CGI). Versions of the video were later shared to social media accounts without the satirical disclaimer to suggest…