Editing Modern flat Earth beliefs (section)

==Background {{anchor|Historical beliefs in a flat Earth, rise of the spherical Earth model}}==
{{Main|Flat Earth}}
Contrary to [[Myth of the flat Earth|the popular belief]] that the Earth was generally believed to be flat until a few hundred years ago, the spherical shape of the Earth (and other celestial bodies) has been widely accepted in the Western world (and universally by scholars) since at least the [[Hellenistic period]] (323 BCE–31 BCE), with the first known measurement of Earth's circumference conducted by [[Eratosthenes]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hutchings |first1=David |last2=Ungureanu |first2=James C. |title=Of popes and unicorns: science, Christianity, and how the conflict thesis fooled the world |date=2022 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=0190053097}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html | title=Are Flat-Earthers Being Serious? | website=[[Live Science]] | date=16 December 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brazil |first=Rachel |date=2020-07-14 |title=Fighting flat-Earth theory |url=https://physicsworld.com/fighting-flat-earth-theory/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Physics World |language=en-GB}}</ref>

It is only comparatively recently that the Flat Earth concept has grown widespread support, due to [[Samuel Rowbotham]] in the 19th century. 
Flat Earth beliefs have had a notable recent resurgence since 2015, due to the internet.