Why does people say the earth is flat
Executive summary
The claim that “the Earth is flat” survives because it ties together a long—if often misunderstood—history of alternative cosmologies, nineteenth-century revivalists, modern conspiracism, and the social dynamics of online communities that reward certainty and mistrust of authority [1] [2] [3]. Contemporary flat-Earth advocacy is less a single empirical argument than a set of rhetorical, cultural and psychological moves—appealing to perceived sensory evidence, religious literalism, community identity, and hostility to scientific institutions—which social media then amplifies [4] [5] [6].
1. Historical roots and persistent myths
Claims that people once universally believed in a flat Earth are themselves a historical misreading: ancient cultures often pictured the world in flat-disk terms, but educated Greek inquiry reached a spherical consensus well before the Common Era, and the “medieval flat-Earth” story was largely constructed later as an anti-Catholic trope and popularized in the 19th century [5] [1] [7]. Yet flat-world images and local experiments—like the 19th-century Bedford Level demonstrations promoted by Samuel Rowbotham—left a tangible legacy that modern proponents cite as proof that the globe view was always contestable [8] [1].
2. The modern revival: organizations, personalities and simplified proofs
The Flat Earth Society and similar groups reconstituted flat-Earth belief as an organized movement in the 20th century, with major growth in the 1950s and renewed global reach after 2009; charismatic figures such as Charles K. Johnson, Mark Sargent and online authors like Eric Dubay provided simplified “proofs” (horizon looks flat, water is level, etc.) and media‑friendly content that appealed to newcomers [5] [3] [9]. These modern proponents often fuse literalist religious readings, selective experiments, and rhetorical challenges to mainstream science to create a compact, shareable doctrine [2] [3].
3. Psychological and social drivers of belief
Researchers and commentators point to deep psychological and social dynamics: people convert to flat-Earth ideas in ways akin to religious conversion, with a clear before-and-after identity shift; allegiance to a minority view can grant social status, certainty, and belonging, particularly for those who distrust official expertise [6] [5]. Neuroscience and social-psychological observers also note that a confident minority, presented intelligently and consistently, can seem persuasive even to otherwise well-informed people [4].
4. Conspiracy, distrust and the epistemic economy
Modern flat-Earth doctrine is sustained by claims of a global cover-up—very often invoking institutions like NASA, scientists, and governments—which allows believers to explain away inconsistent evidence and to reinterpret photographs, flights, and measurements as staged or misleading [3] [6]. Scholarly analysis shows flat earthism operates as a radical critique of the authority of socially legitimized epistemic institutions, not merely as an alternative geometry [6].
5. The internet as accelerant and echo chamber
The internet turned isolated fringe claims into global movements by enabling like-minded people to find each other, package persuasive-sounding “evidence” in videos and lists, and recruit through spectacle and community rituals; much of the movement’s growth since the 2010s is tied to social platforms and viral content rather than new empirical discoveries [3] [9] [5]. At the same time, platform dynamics reward certainty and shareable narratives, even when confronting overwhelming, multi-line scientific evidence for a spherical Earth [5].
6. Alternative perspectives and hidden agendas
Scholars emphasize that flat-Earth belief is heterogeneous: some adherents are sincere skeptics of science, others performatively troll, and some use flat‑Earth rhetoric to promote broader anti‑establishment, religious or political agendas—so motives range from genuine epistemic revolt to cultural signaling and monetization via content creation [9] [6] [3]. Journalistic and academic sources caution against conflating all flat-earthers into a single type, and note that attention and ridicule can inadvertently strengthen the movement’s identity [9] [6].
7. Bottom line: why people say it
People proclaim the Earth flat because the claim solves social and epistemic problems—offering community, a sense of insight, a narrative that explains perceived institutional failure, and simple “proofs” that seem persuasive to non-specialists—while the internet multiplies reach and reinforces belief; history, personality and platform dynamics together explain the persistence of a demonstrably false cosmology [6] [4] [3].