By Tim Binnall
An enlightening new study on those who believe in the Flat Earth theory uncovered a rather remarkable pattern in which nearly everyone said that they became convinced about the conspiracy theory via videos from YouTube. Researchers from the University of Texas reportedly interviewed 30 people who attended one of the two American conferences devoted to the topic held since 2017. The purpose of the project was to determine how these individuals wound up becoming Flat Earth fans.
Incredibly, a jaw-dropping 29 of the people interviewed revealed that became advocates for the conspiracy theory after watching videos about it on YouTube. And, amazingly, the lone outlier indicated that he was informed about the idea from family members who also got their insights from presentations on the website. According to the researchers, numerous interviewees detailed how they were led to the videos via recommendations from the website after watching programs about other conspiracy theories like 9/11 and the moon hoax.
An unspecified number of these Flat Earth fans noted that they were initially skeptical about the conspiracy theory, but their minds were changed after watching the videos. One specific presentation cited as a particularly potent piece of work features a whopping 200 examples of proof that the Earth is flat. The sheer number of 'clues' presented across an array of different scientific and religious realms, the researchers observed, made it so that almost anyone watching the video would find something that connected with their belief system and perspective on the world.
To their credit, the researchers did not call on YouTube to remove the Flat Earth content and, instead, urged scientists to create their own videos which will debunk the conspiracy theory. While the proposed tactic sounds promising in theory, one wonders if such presentations can really compete with some of the more fantastic videos that are available at the website, like the wildly entertaining There Are No Forests on Flat Earth.