By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-18 12:12:26 | Updated at 2024-12-18 14:58:21
2 hours ago
Ever since the time of the ancient Greeks over 2,000 years ago, human beings have known the Earth is a globe.
Despite this, some people are still convinced that we live on a giant floating disc in space, known as 'Flat Earth'.
Now, one of the internet's most famous 'Flat Earthers' has finally cottoned on to the truth.
Jeran Campanella, who runs the popular Flat Earth site 'Jeransim', has travelled to Antarctica as part of a trip dubbed 'The Final Experiment'.
Mr Campanella witnessed first hand that the sun doesn't set during the southern hemisphere's summer – debunking one of famous conspiracy theories of all.
Stationed in Antarctica, he says to the camera: 'Sometimes you are wrong in life and I thought there was no 24-hour sun. In fact I was pretty sure of it.
'And it's a fact – the sun does circle you in the south. So what does that mean? You guys are going to have to find that out for yourself.'
Campanella thanked the organiser of the trip, which cost $35,000 (£27,500) – although he stopped short of saying that the Earth is spherical.
On the globe, Antarctica is an island continent at the southernmost part of the world. But on a Flat Earth, Antarctica is an ice wall that encircles all the other continents and holds in all the world's oceans
Jeran Campanella, who runs the popular Flat Earth YouTube channel 'Jeransim', has travelled to Antarctica as part of a trip dubbed 'The Final Experiment'
Mr Campanella was featured in the 2018 documentary 'Behind the Curve' as he unintentionally debunked his own theory with a light experiment.
In the new clip, he also acknowledges people may see him as a 'shill' – a trickster who takes part in the supposed cover-up that the Earth is round.
'I realise that I'll be called a shill for just saying that and you know what, if you're a shill for being honest so be it,' he said.
'I honestly believed there was no 24-hour sun – I honestly now believe there is.'
As any well-informed person will know, Antarctica is an island continent at the southernmost part of our planet.
Due to the tilt of the Earth, the sun does not set during the southern hemisphere's (or northern hemisphere's) summer – it just moves in a circle in the sky.
It means the sun remains visible all day, including at midnight – a phenomenon dubbed 'the midnight sun'.
But according to Flat Earthers, or 'Flerfs', Antarctica is an ice wall that encircles all the other continents and holds in all the world's oceans.
Labelled 'The Final Experiment', the trip was organised by Will Duffy, a pastor from Colorado (pictured)
During the southern hemisphere's and northern hemisphere's summer, the sun remains visible all day, including at midnight - a phenomenon dubbed 'the midnight sun'. Pictured, multiple exposure of midnight sun on Lake Ozhogino in Yakutia, Russia
What do Flat Earthers believe?
People who believe the idea that the Earth is disc-shaped rather than round are called 'Flat Earthers'.
Because Earth's surface looks and feels flat when we walk around it, the conspiracy theorists denounce all evidence to the contrary.
The leading theory suggests Earth is a disc with the Arctic Circle in the centre and Antarctica, a 150-foot-tall (45-metre) wall of ice, around the rim.
Proponents of the bizarre theory also claim the Earth is stationary in space rather than orbiting the sun.
Therefore, the sun rises and sets each day, every day, regardless of whether it's summer or not, the theorists allege.
And to account for night and day, most theorists believe the sun moves in circles around the North Pole, with the sun's light acting like a spotlight over Earth.
About three years ago, Will Duffy, a pastor from Colorado, was made aware that people still believe the Earth is flat when a friend of his posted about it on Facebook.
Since Flat Earthers said for years that Antarctica will show the world the truth about the shape of the Earth, Mr Duffy decided the easiest solution would be to just go to Antarctica.
'After we go to Antarctica, no one has to waste any more time debating the shape of the Earth,' he said.
'I created The Final Experiment to end this debate, once and for all,' he said.
On December 14, Mr Duffy flew with four Flat Earthers (including Mr Campanella) and four people who already know the Earth is round ('globe earthers') to Antarctica.
Mr Duffy said he filmed the sun for 25 hours straight, using SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet network for a livestream.
Stunning footage from the frozen landscape shows the gleaming midnight sun with ice-peaked mountains in the background.
'That is a midnight sun – so the sun has never set the entire time we've been here,' said the pastor to the camera.
'I put sunscreen on at midnight so that I would not get burned at midnight while I was doing this livestream.'
He passes over to Mr Campanella, who humbly admits he was wrong, but another famous Flat Earther on the trip, Austin Witsit, has more trouble letting go off the theory.
Witsit said there's 'clearly' a 24-hour sun, but denied that this proves the Earth is a globe.
'I don't think it falsifies plane [flat] Earth, I don't think it proves a globe – I think it's a singular data point,' he said.
Likewise, some YouTuber conspiracy theorists have been left unconvinced, with many claiming the group were standing in front of a green screen.
In the live chat, YouTube user Nandy posted: 'THIS IS A GREEN SCREEN, HOLD UP SNOW AND PUT UP THREE FINGERS IF IT'S REAL, the earth will always be flat', while user Fozzy_Foster said: 'move the camera green screen.'
Another user, Oz Riv, called Mr Duffy a 'shill', adding: 'You are a pastor advocating for earth that isn't biblical. Annd you work with Nasa.'
Scientists have know for millennia that Earth is a sphere due to the simple fact that the sun sets at different times in different locations.
If the Earth were flat, then shadows would be the same length, regardless of location.
For space travelers and robotic probes, the curvature of the Earth has also long been clearly visible.
BELIEVE IN CONSPIRACY THEORIES? YOU'RE PROBABLY A NARCISSIST, RESEARCHERS SAY
People who doubt the moon landings are more likely to be selfish and attention-seeking, according to a 2015 study.
Over the course of three online-based studies, researchers at the University of Kent showed strong links between the belief in conspiracy theories and negative psychological traits.
Writing in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, the team explained: 'Previous research linked the endorsement of conspiracy theories to low self-esteem.'
In the first study, a total of 202 participants completed questionnaires on conspiracy beliefs, asking how strongly they agreed with specific statements, such as whether governments carried out acts of terrorism on their own soil.
Alongside this, they were asked to complete a narcissist scale and a self-esteem assessment.
The results showed that those people who rated highly on the narcissism scale and who had low self-esteem were more likely to be conspiracy believers.
