Editing Modern flat Earth beliefs (section)

===Social and experimental activities of skeptics and believers===
[[Skeptical movement|Organisations sceptical of fringe beliefs]] have occasionally performed tests to demonstrate the local curvature of the Earth. One of these, conducted by members of the Independent Investigations Group of the [[Center for Inquiry]], at the [[Salton Sea]] on 10 June 2018 was attended also by supporters of a flat Earth, and the encounter between the two groups was recorded by the [[National Geographic Explorer]]. This experiment successfully demonstrated the curvature of the Earth via the disappearance over distance of boat-based and shore-based targets. IIG founder Jim Underdown reported that the flat Earth supporters in attendance immediately rejected the results, denying the validity of the demonstration after the fact, and the discussion degenerated into tangents about [[Moon landing conspiracy theories]] and alleged NASA cover-ups.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Underdown |first1=James |author-link1=James Underdown |title=Commentary: The Salton Sea Flat Earth Test: When Skeptics Meet Deniers |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |date=2018 |volume=42 |issue=6 |pages=14–15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Underdown |first1=Jim |author-link1=James Underdown |title=The Salton Sea Flat Earth Test: When Skeptics Meet Deniers |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_salton_sea_flat_earth_test_when_skeptics_meet_deniers |website=CSICOP.org |publisher=CFI |access-date=24 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224135255/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/the_salton_sea_flat_earth_test_when_skeptics_meet_deniers |archive-date=24 February 2019|url-status=live|date=November 2018 }}</ref>

The 2018 documentary ''Behind the Curve'' followed two groups of American flat Earth believers who were attempting to gather first-hand empirical proof for that belief. One group from the YouTube show GlobeBusters used a [[ring laser gyroscope]] in an attempt to show the Earth was not rotating. Instead, they detected the actual 15-degree-per-hour rotation of the Earth, a measurement they dismissed as corrupted by the device somehow picking up the rotation of the "[[firmament]]". Another group used lasers in an attempt to show a several-mile stretch of water is perfectly flat by measuring the distance between the water level and the laser beam along three vertical posts. They were unable to align the beam as they expected to because the surface of the still water was in fact bent by several feet over the distance measured; the experiment was dismissed as inconclusive.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ_zDG6zL58 |title=Behind the Curve |date=2018-12-16 |last=YouTube Movies |access-date=2025-05-15 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

''Behind the Curve'' illustrated how flat Earth believers rely on poorly-verified claims. Mark Sargent claimed to have watched [[flightaware.com]] for a very long time to check if any flights traveled between continents in the Southern Hemisphere, which in his disc model would be much further apart than they are on the globe. He stated that he saw no such flights, and took this as evidence for the disc model. Caltech astrophysicist Hannalore Gerling-Dunsmore went to the site and immediately found flights that contradicted Sargent's claims.<ref>starting at around 11 minutes. {{cite web |title=Behind the Curve |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ_zDG6zL58 |website=YouTube |access-date=31 July 2023 |date=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://flightaware.com/ |access-date=11 Feb 2022 |title=Real-time Worldwide Flight Traffic}} (Gerling-Dunsmore's claims were verified on this date at 03:30 UTC, though not all flights were visible when fully zoomed out - a possible source of confusion.)</ref>

The [[solar eclipse of 21 August 2017]] gave rise to numerous YouTube videos purporting to show how the details of the eclipse prove the Earth is flat.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Martin|first1=Sean|title='The sun hologram needs updating' This is how flat earthers explain the solar eclipse|url=http://www.express.co.uk/news/science/841400/solar-eclipse-flat-earth-conspiracy-theory-reddit|work=Daily Express|access-date=19 August 2017|date=15 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hickey|first1=Brian|title=What do flat Earthers think about Monday's solar eclipse?|url=http://www.phillyvoice.com/ask-hickey-what-are-flat-earthers-saying-about-mondays-eclipse/|website=Phillyvoice.com|publisher=Philly Voice|access-date=19 August 2017|date=17 August 2017}}</ref>

In 2017, "the Tunisian and Arab scientific and educational world" had a scandal when a Ph.D. student at the [[University of Sfax]] in [[Tunisia]] submitted a [[University of Sfax#Flat Earth controversy|Ph.D. dissertation]] "declaring Earth to be flat, unmoving, young (only 13,500 years of age), and the centre of the universe".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Guessoum|first1=Nidhal|title=PhD thesis: The earth is flat|url=http://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/phd-thesis-the-earth-is-flat-1.2009202|work=Gulf News|date=10 April 2017 |access-date=19 August 2017}}</ref>  In 2018, astronomer [[Yaël Nazé]] analyzed the controversy over the dissertation.  The dissertation, which had not been approved by the committee overseeing environmental studies theses, had been made public and denounced in 2017 by Hafedh Ateb, a founder of the Tunisian Astronomical Society, on his Facebook page.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nazé |first1=Yaël |author-link=Yaël Nazé |title=A Doctoral Dissertation on a Geocentric Flat Earth: 'Zetetic' Astronomy at the University Level |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=2018 |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=12–14}}</ref>

In March 2019, social media personality [[Logan Paul]] released a satirical documentary film about the flat Earth called ''FLAT EARTH: To The Edge And Back''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Logan |first=Paul |title=Flat Earth: To The Edge And Back (Official Movie)|date=20 March 2019|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpljiOgd9RQ| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/vpljiOgd9RQ| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|access-date=1 July 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/22/18277131/logan-paul-flat-earth-conspiracy-youtube-recommendation-algorithm|title=Logan Paul's satirical flat Earth doc gets to the heart of YouTube's recommendation issue|last=Alexander|first=Julia|date=22 March 2019|website=The Verge|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mashable.com/article/logan-paul-doesnt-actually-think-the-earth-is-flat-movie/|title=Good news everyone, Logan Paul doesn't actually think the Earth is flat|last=Sung|first=Morgan|website=Mashable|date=21 March 2019|language=en|access-date=1 July 2019}}</ref>

On December 14, 2024, retired businessman and pastor Will Duffy paid to bring believers in the concept of a flat earth to [[Union Glacier Camp]] in Antarctica for them to witness day-long illumination. While his guests had to concede they witnessed the midnight sun in Antarctica, not all of them accepted on the spot that the Earth is a sphere.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iflscience.com/flat-earthers-travel-to-antarctica-to-test-theories-but-are-quickly-humbled-77254 |title=Flat-Earthers Travel To Antarctica To Test Theories, But Are Quickly Humbled |author=Tom Hale |publication-date=December 17, 2024 |publisher=[[LabX Media Group|IFLScience]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=While most of the Flat Earthers didn’t consider the experience definitive proof that the Earth is spherical, they accepted the existence of the 24-hour Sun in Antarctica – a phenomenon that poses significant challenges for most of their flat Earth theories. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/flat-earthers-befuddled-visit-antarctica-191030416.html |title=Flat Earthers Befuddled as They Visit Antarctica and Earth Appears to Be Round |author=Noor Al-Sibai |publication-date=December 18, 2024 |publisher=[[Yahoo News|Yahoo! News]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=After a pastor took a group of Flat Earthers to Antarctica to prove definitively what shape our planet is, some of the truthers were startled to find that the globe is indeed round. (...) While the trip did seem to persuade at least one prominent Flat Earther that his beliefs were wrong, another of the conspiracy-theorizing Arctic voyagers was less convinced. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/sometimes-you-are-wrong-flat-earthers-admit-defeat-after-seeing-24hour-antarctica-sun/news-story/0bc1d6b85396c04e163ba1a1b5b7bb21 |title=‘Sometimes you are wrong’: Flat earthers admit defeat after seeing 24-hour Antarctica sun |author=Frank Chung |publication-date=December 19, 2024 |publisher=[[News.com.au]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=A group of popular flat earth YouTubers have admitted defeat against the ‘globers’ after taking a trip to Antarctica to witness the 24-hour sun. (...) No flat earthers had ever been to Antarctica — a popular conspiracy theory was that the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 prevented them from going, specifically in summer, lest they discover the truth. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/flat-earthers-went-to-antarctica-to-look-at-the-sun-heres-what-happened |title=Flat Earthers Went to Antarctica to Look at The Sun. Here's What Happened. |author=Mike McRae |publication-date=December 20, 2024 |publisher=[[ScienceAlert]] |access-date=January 6, 2025 |quote=In a surprise conclusion to a project dubbed The Final Experiment, several well-known believers in a non-spherical Earth have had a change of heart. (...) Belief formation is a complex task for human brains, though, combining experiences shared by those we trust with a dusting of our own perceptions to construct personal stories that don't just explain what we see, but fit with what we value.<br>As an exercise in trust-building and a demonstration of the value in putting our firmest convictions to the test when given a chance, Duffy's 'Final Experiment' ought to be anything but final.}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web |url=https://baptistnews.com/article/when-flat-earthers-and-creationists-find-common-ground/ |title=When flat earthers and creationists find common ground |author=Rick Pidcock |publication-date=December 29, 2024 |publisher=[[Baptist News Global]] |access-date=January 6, 2024 |quote=It was hyped as “The Final Experiment.” Led by pastor Will Duffy of Agape Kingdom Fellowship in Wheat Ridge, Colo., a group of people who believed in a flat earth and others who believed in a global earth traveled to Union Glacier, Antarctica, together on Dec. 14 with the desire “to end the debate over the shape of the earth.” (...) Of course, the easy response here would be to get a good laugh out of flat earthers grappling with their model being proved wrong and then feel thankful for Duffy and whoever has been promoting him putting on the event. But a closer look at who is promoting the experiment provides a much more complex set of concerns. (...) In this holiday season, many of us are gathering with family members who have drastically different scientific, political or theological views than us. Those differences cannot be ignored, nor the consequences minimized.<br>But despite the fact I personally think everyone involved in this “Final Experiment” has significant scientific, political and theological problems, there was something deeply human in their togetherness that is worth noting. (...) }}</ref>

==== Mike Hughes ====
{{Main|Mike Hughes (daredevil)}}
[[Mike Hughes (daredevil)|Mike Hughes]], a daredevil/stuntman, planned to use a homebuilt crewed rocket to reach outer space.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/flat-earther-mad-mike-hughes-rocket-launch-man-blasts-off-a8272761.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/flat-earther-mad-mike-hughes-rocket-launch-man-blasts-off-a8272761.html |archive-date=15 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Flat-earther blasts off in homemade rocket in bid to reassure himself world is shaped 'like a Frisbee'|date=25 March 2018|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=8 December 2018}}</ref>
In a practice flight on 22 February 2020, the early deployment and separation of the return parachute allowed his rocket to fall unimpeded from an altitude of several hundred feet, killing him instantly.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencealert.com/infamous-flat-earth-daredevil-dies-in-crash-in-california|title=Infamous Daredevil 'Mad' Mike Hughes Has Died in Homemade Rocket Crash in California|website=ScienceAlert|date=23 February 2020 |language=en-gb|access-date=23 February 2020}}</ref>

After Hughes' death, his public relations representative Darren Shuster stated that Hughes "didn't believe in flat Earth" and that it was "a PR stunt" to get publicity,<ref>{{cite news |last=Steadman |first=Otillia |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/otilliasteadman/mad-mike-hughes-rocket-death-flat-earth |title=A Daredevil Flat Earther Died After Attempting To Launch Himself 5,000 Feet With A Homemade Rocket |date=24 February 2020 |work=BuzzFeed News |access-date=13 August 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Ortiz |first=Aimee |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/23/us/mad-mike-hughes-dead.html |title=Mike Hughes, 64, D.I.Y. Daredevil, Is Killed in Rocket Crash |date=23 February 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=13 August 2021 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> while Michael Linn, who worked on the documentary ''Rocketman: Mad Mike's Mission to Prove the Flat-Earth'', said that Hughes' belief appeared genuine.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wigglesworth |first=Alex |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-24/mad-mike-hughes-death-of-rocketman-ends-years-of-close-calls |title=Death of rocket man 'Mad Mike' Hughes ends years of close calls |date=24 February 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=13 August 2021 |language=en-US |issn=2165-1736}}</ref>