‘Flat Earth’ believers gather at conference

The shape of the Earth is a spheroid, right? A YouGov study conducted this year says a third of people ages 18-24 aren’t sure our planet is round.

“If you believe we live on a globe, I know you’re deceived.” 

Welcome to the Flat Earth International Conference. 

“NASA has obviously lied to us on numerous occasions,” says Wendell, a conference attendee.

Most of the people gathered at the conference held in Denver, Colorado believe Americans live on a lie. The flat Earth believers think pictures of the earth are fake and astronauts are actors. 

Social media sites like YouTube have made the flat earth theory more available in recent years. Some of those accounts have tens of thousands of followers.

“If you do trust your senses, you’re seeing things different than what you’re being fed,” says Debra Auden, who traveled from Texas to the conference.

Dr. Ka Chun Yu, the curator of space science at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, says he was really surprised when he heard about the number of flat-earthers.

“We’ve known for over 2,000 years that the earth is more or less a sphere, a ball or a round shape.

“This is how the Greeks knew the earth was round. They realized that if you had sticks in the ground and you were able to measure their shadows on the same day, the lengths of the shadows would actually be different,” Dr. Yu says.

But to flat-earthers, science’s facts are fiction. Flat Earth believers say an ice wall keeps us from falling off the surface.

So, why do flat-earthers believe there would be such a lie about a round Earth? Some say conspiracy, while others turn to God. 

“You might not be convinced, but I encourage you to visit your local science museum or planetarium,” Dr. Yu says.