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The Herald Scotland
18-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Flat Earth on the ballot? Some politicians linked to debunked claim.
To some, the beliefs have a spiritual connection. Others say they have a healthy skepticism of scientific consensus. Data from a 2021 University of New Hampshire survey shows nearly 10% of Americans believe the Earth is flat, indicating how widespread pseudo-scientific conspiracy theories are emerging in the U.S. Meanwhile, political observers have met the emergence of some flat Earth beliefs in politics with a mix of alarm and apathy. Political candidates who believe the Earth is flat and other similar beliefs are "consistent with the current dumbing down and anti-intellectualism of America," said James Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco. Taylor said these theories have thrived mostly due to the internet and social media compared to 20 years ago. Flat Earth presence in politics In Alabama, there's Dean Odle, a pastor who lost when he ran for governor in 2022, and is now seeking to become lieutenant governor next year. Odle, who describes himself as the "Anti-estabishment Republican," told USA TODAY he became "a flat-earth/biblical-earther believer" in 2015, even attending the inaugural Flat Earth International Conference in 2017. He cites his 2019 self-published book, titled "Like Clay Under the Seal," saying his belief that the Earth is flat initially came as a "spiritual download from the Holy Spirit." Odle said he's aware of the flak he gets for his beliefs, but it won't stop him from running for office to try improving the state's low-ranking education status and stop the Second Amendment from being attacked. "I typically refer to Article VI, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which says no religious tests should be put on a person as a qualification or disqualification to run for office," Odle said. "What that means is we're all going to have different beliefs, but that doesn't mean we're unfit to protect the God-given constitutional rights of all Americans and Alabama residents." In Minnesota, Bret Bussman, an Army veteran who became Minnesota's 7th Congressional District Republican Party chair in March, has reportedly publicly shared videos on social media explaining why he believes the Earth is flat. That includes a 2024 Facebook post titled, "5 Reasons Why I BELIEVE in the Flat Earth (And You Should Too!)." When asked about his beliefs by the Minnesota Reformer in April, Bussman said, "You can print whatever you want. I spent 20+ years in the Army defending that right, but if you do that, there would be no chance of me speaking with you in the future." (USA TODAY has reached out to Bussman for comment.) And in Georgia, Kandiss Taylor, a former Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate and the state's current District 1 GOP Chair, has announced she's running for Congress in 2026. She faced scrutiny after interviewing two prominent flat Earth believers on a podcast two years ago, at one point saying: "Everywhere there's globes. It's that's what they do to brainwash," Taylor said. "For me, if it is not a conspiracy, if it is, you know, 'real,' why are you pushing so hard? Everywhere I go, every store, you buy a globe, there's globes everywhere--every movie, every TV show, news media. Why? It doesn't make sense." Taylor has since said she does not believe the Earth is flat, but that she remains skeptical. "I will clearly state that I simply do not believe anything that I have not seen for myself," Taylor said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY. "With that being said, I will gladly take one of those 11-minute rocket flights to the stratosphere (Like Katy Perry did) and report back to the people what I see." What do flat-earthers believe? In general, most flat-earthers believe Earth is a flat, hockey-puck-like object covered by a dome, sometimes called a firmament, with walls of ice around the edges of the dome. Flat-earthers think they can prove this because the seas appear level, not curved, and say it is not possible to view the Earth's curvature of the horizon from airplanes. They also dispute photographic evidence from space, saying it cannot be trusted and that the NASA moon landing was a hoax. Flat Earth in politics: What does it mean? Fact check roundup: Debunking the flawed science behind flat Earth claims Although some flat Earth believers have been active in politics, there's no evidence of an organized flat-earther movement in U.S. politics, political experts told USA TODAY. "You're unlikely to have candidates openly saying they think the earth is flat because it sounds like a goofier position and a less widely held belief," said John Cluverius, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. "I hesitate to think about this as a conspiracy theory as much as it is an anti-science belief that can be countered with scientific evidence." Round and round: Surreal April 2024 total solar eclipse renews debunked flat Earth conspiracy theories When did people know the Earth is a sphere? There's a common flat Earth error, popularized in the 19th century, suggesting that before scientific study began in the 17th century, most people believed the Earth was indeed flat. However, ancient Greeks figured out the Earth was round around 500 B.C., and it's been commonly accepted by scholars, navigators and cartographers since. The flat Earth belief as a conspiracy theory rose again in the mid-1800s in England. The Flat Earth Society was founded in 1956. Then, flat-earthers had a resurgence in the 2010s as the rise of social media became a portal for conspiracy theorists, as James Taylor, the San Francisco political scientist, mentioned. Contributing: Elizabeth Wiese, Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Flat Earth on the ballot? Debunked claim pops up in US politics.
Humans have known the Earth is round for more than 2,000 years, but a movement questioning that fact has reached the corners of American politics. People involved in politics in Alabama, Georgia and Minnesota have attracted attention for their links to the flat Earth movement, although their beliefs and reasoning vary. To some, the beliefs have a spiritual connection. Others say they have a healthy skepticism of scientific consensus. Data from a 2021 University of New Hampshire survey shows nearly 10% of Americans believe the Earth is flat, indicating how widespread pseudo-scientific conspiracy theories are emerging in the U.S. Meanwhile, political observers have met the emergence of some flat Earth beliefs in politics with a mix of alarm and apathy. Political candidates who believe the Earth is flat and other similar beliefs are "consistent with the current dumbing down and anti-intellectualism of America," said James Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco. Taylor said these theories have thrived mostly due to the internet and social media compared to 20 years ago. In Alabama, there's Dean Odle, a pastor who lost when he ran for governor in 2022, and is now seeking to become lieutenant governor next year. Odle, who describes himself as the "Anti-estabishment Republican," told USA TODAY he became "a flat-earth/biblical-earther believer" in 2015, even attending the inaugural Flat Earth International Conference in 2017. He cites his 2019 self-published book, titled "Like Clay Under the Seal," saying his belief that the Earth is flat initially came as a "spiritual download from the Holy Spirit." Odle said he's aware of the flak he gets for his beliefs, but it won't stop him from running for office to try improving the state's low-ranking education status and stop the Second Amendment from being attacked. "I typically refer to Article VI, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which says no religious tests should be put on a person as a qualification or disqualification to run for office," Odle said. "What that means is we're all going to have different beliefs, but that doesn't mean we're unfit to protect the God-given constitutional rights of all Americans and Alabama residents." In Minnesota, Bret Bussman, an Army veteran who became Minnesota's 7th Congressional District Republican Party chair in March, has reportedly publicly shared videos on social media explaining why he believes the Earth is flat. That includes a 2024 Facebook post titled, "5 Reasons Why I BELIEVE in the Flat Earth (And You Should Too!)." When asked about his beliefs by the Minnesota Reformer in April, Bussman said, "You can print whatever you want. I spent 20+ years in the Army defending that right, but if you do that, there would be no chance of me speaking with you in the future." (USA TODAY has reached out to Bussman for comment.) And in Georgia, Kandiss Taylor, a former Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate and the state's current District 1 GOP Chair, has announced she's running for Congress in 2026. She faced scrutiny after interviewing two prominent flat Earth believers on a podcast two years ago, at one point saying: "Everywhere there's globes. It's constant…and that's what they do to brainwash," Taylor said. "For me, if it is not a conspiracy, if it is, you know, 'real,' why are you pushing so hard? Everywhere I go, every store, you buy a globe, there's globes everywhere—every movie, every TV show, news media. Why? It doesn't make sense." Taylor has since said she does not believe the Earth is flat, but that she remains skeptical. "I will clearly state that I simply do not believe anything that I have not seen for myself," Taylor said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY. "With that being said, I will gladly take one of those 11-minute rocket flights to the stratosphere (Like Katy Perry did) and report back to the people what I see." In general, most flat-earthers believe Earth is a flat, hockey-puck-like object covered by a dome, sometimes called a firmament, with walls of ice around the edges of the dome. Flat-earthers think they can prove this because the seas appear level, not curved, and say it is not possible to view the Earth's curvature of the horizon from airplanes. They also dispute photographic evidence from space, saying it cannot be trusted and that the NASA moon landing was a hoax. Fact check roundup: Debunking the flawed science behind flat Earth claims Although some flat Earth believers have been active in politics, there's no evidence of an organized flat-earther movement in U.S. politics, political experts told USA TODAY. "You're unlikely to have candidates openly saying they think the earth is flat because it sounds like a goofier position and a less widely held belief," said John Cluverius, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. "I hesitate to think about this as a conspiracy theory as much as it is an anti-science belief that can be countered with scientific evidence." Round and round: Surreal April 2024 total solar eclipse renews debunked flat Earth conspiracy theories There's a common flat Earth error, popularized in the 19th century, suggesting that before scientific study began in the 17th century, most people believed the Earth was indeed flat. However, ancient Greeks figured out the Earth was round around 500 B.C., and it's been commonly accepted by scholars, navigators and cartographers since. The flat Earth belief as a conspiracy theory rose again in the mid-1800s in England. The Flat Earth Society was founded in 1956. Then, flat-earthers had a resurgence in the 2010s as the rise of social media became a portal for conspiracy theorists, as James Taylor, the San Francisco political scientist, mentioned. Contributing: Elizabeth Wiese, Doyle Rice, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flat Earth on the ballot? Some politicians linked to debunked claim.
USA Today
17-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Flat Earth on the ballot? Debunked claim pops up in US politics.
Flat Earth on the ballot? Debunked claim pops up in US politics. Show Caption Hide Caption Fact-checking flat Earth claims before 2024 eclipse A total solar eclipse is expected to cross the U.S. on April 8. That isn't stopping some skeptics from believing the Earth is flat. Humans have known the Earth is round for more than 2,000 years, but a movement questioning that fact has reached the corners of American politics. People involved in politics in Alabama, Georgia and Minnesota have attracted attention for their links to the flat Earth movement, although their beliefs and reasoning vary. To some, the beliefs have a spiritual connection. Others say they have a healthy skepticism of scientific consensus. Data from a 2021 University of New Hampshire survey shows nearly 10% of Americans believe the Earth is flat, indicating how widespread pseudo-scientific conspiracy theories are emerging in the U.S. Meanwhile, political observers have met the emergence of some flat Earth beliefs in politics with a mix of alarm and apathy. Political candidates who believe the Earth is flat and other similar beliefs are "consistent with the current dumbing down and anti-intellectualism of America," said James Taylor, a political science professor at the University of San Francisco. Taylor said these theories have thrived mostly due to the internet and social media compared to 20 years ago. Flat Earth presence in politics In Alabama, there's Dean Odle, a pastor who lost when he ran for governor in 2022, and is now seeking to become lieutenant governor next year. Odle, who describes himself as the "Anti-estabishment Republican," told USA TODAY he became "a flat-earth/biblical-earther believer" in 2015, even attending the inaugural Flat Earth International Conference in 2017. He cites his 2019 self-published book, titled "Like Clay Under the Seal," saying his belief that the Earth is flat initially came as a "spiritual download from the Holy Spirit." Odle said he's aware of the flak he gets for his beliefs, but it won't stop him from running for office to try improving the state's low-ranking education status and stop the Second Amendment from being attacked. "I typically refer to Article VI, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which says no religious tests should be put on a person as a qualification or disqualification to run for office," Odle said. "What that means is we're all going to have different beliefs, but that doesn't mean we're unfit to protect the God-given constitutional rights of all Americans and Alabama residents." In Minnesota, Bret Bussman, an Army veteran who became Minnesota's 7th Congressional District Republican Party chair in March, has reportedly publicly shared videos on social media explaining why he believes the Earth is flat. That includes a 2024 Facebook post titled, "5 Reasons Why I BELIEVE in the Flat Earth (And You Should Too!)." When asked about his beliefs by the Minnesota Reformer in April, Bussman said, "You can print whatever you want. I spent 20+ years in the Army defending that right, but if you do that, there would be no chance of me speaking with you in the future." (USA TODAY has reached out to Bussman for comment.) And in Georgia, Kandiss Taylor, a former Georgia Republican gubernatorial candidate and the state's current District 1 GOP Chair, has announced she's running for Congress in 2026. She faced scrutiny after interviewing two prominent flat Earth believers on a podcast two years ago, at one point saying: "Everywhere there's globes. It's constant…and that's what they do to brainwash," Taylor said. "For me, if it is not a conspiracy, if it is, you know, 'real,' why are you pushing so hard? Everywhere I go, every store, you buy a globe, there's globes everywhere—every movie, every TV show, news media. Why? It doesn't make sense." Taylor has since said she does not believe the Earth is flat, but that she remains skeptical. "I will clearly state that I simply do not believe anything that I have not seen for myself," Taylor said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY. "With that being said, I will gladly take one of those 11-minute rocket flights to the stratosphere (Like Katy Perry did) and report back to the people what I see." What do flat-earthers believe? In general, most flat-earthers believe Earth is a flat, hockey-puck-like object covered by a dome, sometimes called a firmament, with walls of ice around the edges of the dome. Flat-earthers think they can prove this because the seas appear level, not curved, and say it is not possible to view the Earth's curvature of the horizon from airplanes. They also dispute photographic evidence from space, saying it cannot be trusted and that the NASA moon landing was a hoax. Flat Earth in politics: What does it mean? Fact check roundup: Debunking the flawed science behind flat Earth claims Although some flat Earth believers have been active in politics, there's no evidence of an organized flat-earther movement in U.S. politics, political experts told USA TODAY. "You're unlikely to have candidates openly saying they think the earth is flat because it sounds like a goofier position and a less widely held belief," said John Cluverius, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. "I hesitate to think about this as a conspiracy theory as much as it is an anti-science belief that can be countered with scientific evidence." Round and round: Surreal April 2024 total solar eclipse renews debunked flat Earth conspiracy theories When did people know the Earth is a sphere? There's a common flat Earth error, popularized in the 19th century, suggesting that before scientific study began in the 17th century, most people believed the Earth was indeed flat. However, ancient Greeks figured out the Earth was round around 500 B.C., and it's been commonly accepted by scholars, navigators and cartographers since. The flat Earth belief as a conspiracy theory rose again in the mid-1800s in England. The Flat Earth Society was founded in 1956. Then, flat-earthers had a resurgence in the 2010s as the rise of social media became a portal for conspiracy theorists, as James Taylor, the San Francisco political scientist, mentioned. Contributing: Elizabeth Wiese, Doyle Rice, USA TODAY
Chicago Tribune
29-01-2025
- Science
- Chicago Tribune
A Colorado pastor thought he could make flat-Earthers see the light in Antarctica. It didn't work.
Colorado pastor Will Duffy's obsession with the flat-Earth conspiracy theory began with a longtime friend's post on Facebook. A quick direct message led to a months-long debate between Duffy and his friend, who held the archaic and false belief that our planet is a flat disc. Three years later, after immersing himself in the conspiracy online, Duffy thought he could end the debate for everyone by traveling to Antarctica to livestream 24 straight hours of sunlight. The phenomenon occurs because the Earth's Southern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun as the planet rotates around it, and Antarctica is at its closest point to the sun on the rotation. Flat-Earth believers do not believe this happens. Duffy launched a YouTube channel called 'The Final Experiment' to promote the trip, then invited flat-Earthers and well-known 'globers' — people who understand the Earth is round — to accompany him this past December on a four-day stay on the continent. 'I decided that is it. That will solve this once and for all,' Duffy said in an interview this month. 'We need to go to Antarctica. I need to take a flat-Earther or two with me and see the 24-hour sun and then this whole thing is over. So that began the journey of 'The Final Experiment.' ' Duffy was correct about the 24-hour sun. But he was wrong in believing he could bring an end to the flat-Earth conspiracy. Now, the 41-year-old pastor of a Wheat Ridge church is at center of a global firestorm among flat-Earthers, who are flooding social media with ideas on how to debunk 'The Final Experiment' by picking apart camera angles, shadows and footprints. One Alabama pastor is even preaching that Satan was involved in the deception. 'The flat Earth community is imploding,' Duffy said. 'They cannot decide what to believe. They've all come up with their own conspiracies.' A long-debunked fallacy The idea that Earth is a flat disc was proven wrong by scientists centuries ago, with ancient Greeks getting credit for the discovery that the planet is, in fact, a sphere. Science has backed their discovery for generations. Skeptics about Earth's shape have always existed, but YouTube and social media sites have made it easier to spread that conspiracy. It's unclear how many people truly believe the flat-Earth theory, but a 2022 University of New Hampshire online survey found 10% of respondents agreed the Earth is flat in a study that attempted to determine how widespread beliefs in pseudo-scientific conspiracy theories are in the United States. People from all over the world tune into videos and group chats to discuss it. In 2018, hundreds gathered in Denver for the Flat Earth International Conference. Duffy's YouTube channel has 21,000 subscribers, and some days his videos attract more than twice that many views. Since digging into the flat-Earth world, Duffy has learned how passionate — and sometimes aggressive — its believers can be. He has been accused of stealing money from his church, Agape Kingdom Fellowship, to fund the expedition. And bad investment advice from his time as a financial adviser has come back to haunt him as the flat-Earth crowd digs into the background of a pastor who seemingly emerged from nowhere to take on the conspiracy belief. Duffy's LinkedIn page shows he worked as a licensed investment adviser and broker from 2016 until 2024, when his licenses expired. He ran into trouble after recommending high-risk debt securities to his clients. Five customers filed complaints against Duffy, claiming he cost them more than $900,000 in financial losses, according to FINRA, a nonprofit that regulates U.S. brokerage firms. He has settled two cases for a total of $235,000, FINRA's broker database shows. Duffy acknowledged he recommended bonds sold by GWG Holdings, which was investigated as fraudulent by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He said he also lost six figures in the failed investment. 'The reality is that investing is a world of risk,' Duffy said. 'I don't have a crystal ball. Nobody does. I thought it was a good investment and it ended up not going well. It's that simple. There was no fraud.' Duffy has been a volunteer pastor at Agape Kingdom Fellowship, a non-denominational church in Wheat Ridge, since 2021. It's a role he took after the congregation's former pastor died. But Duffy denies taking funds from his church, saying it's too small and doesn't have enough money to send people on an expedition to Antarctica. Dominic Enyart, Duffy's friend and an Agape member, said there is no suspicion that Duffy used church funds to go on the trip. And while the church did not financially support the expedition, its members are backing Duffy's mission to dispel the flat-Earth theory, he said. 'When people use the Bible to say something false is scientific, it makes Christianity look foolish,' he said. 'Christianity is about pursuing the truth. If the Earth is a sphere, we want to pursue that truth. Obviously scientific truth is a very valid form of truth.' 'At that point the debate's over' Duffy found four flat-Earth believers and four globers to travel with him. The trip cost about $35,000 per person, although Duffy's expenses were covered by the expedition company because he brought eight people with him. Duffy said he personally paid for four people's travel expenses and cold-weather gear. The others either paid their own way or raised money through crowdfunding. The group first traveled to Chile before catching a flight on Dec. 14 to Antarctica's Union Glacier Base Camp. There, they set up cameras and satellite communication so they could record pictures and videos and conduct livestream broadcasts to their followers. 'We interacted with over 4,000 people that were watching,' Duffy said. 'We don't know if that's ever been done in history. It was midnight in Antarctica and the sun was still up. And so I showed everybody the sun was still up. It's midnight, so at that point the debate's over.' But it's not over for thousands of people who watched. The group left Antarctica on Dec. 17 ahead of an incoming storm. Since then, debate has raged online as people try dissect how Duffy and his team might have faked the 24-hour sun. Conspiracy theorists have analyzed the shadows left by Duffy and his team, their footprints in the snow and camera angles. Some have suggested they filmed the trip in a studio, a dome or a sphere similar to the live-music venue in Las Vegas — or that they recorded it at the North Pole in June. One Alabama pastor even preached a sermon titled 'The Final Experiment Debunked,' and suggested Satan accompanied Duffy to Antarctica then created a fireball in the sky to light up the night. 'You don't think Satan would go, 'OK boys, y'all head on down there to Antarctica. I'll be there on this day. I'll clear the weather up for you, and I'll be the angelic light in the sky?' ' Dean Odle said during his Dec. 30 sermon. Stepping away from flat Earth But one person who is changing his mind is Jaren Campanella, a well-known flat-Earth believer who has produced YouTube videos under the name Jarenism for almost 10 years and who traveled with Duffy to Antarctica. Campanella told The Post he is going to 'step away' from the flat-Earth community. He said the flat-Earth map that he used, called the azimuthal equidistant map, would not be legitimate if a 24-hour sun existed. Once he saw it with his own eyes, he realized his theory no longer worked. 'Even if I don't feel like I'm on a sphere, even if i don't feel like I'm upside down, even if i don't feel like I'm flying through space, the flat Earth doesn't work for me,' Campanella said. 'I couldn't go on once I knew it was not the case. There's not a part of me that could on and do another show.' Now that the trip is over, Duffy said he plans to post a few remaining videos of experiments he conducted while in Antarctica and Chile. Then he plans to exit the debate. The pressure of planning a trip and the anger among the flat-Earth community is taking its toll, Duffy said. 'I know I can't wait to get out of it,' he said. 'I have to get all of this released, but as soon as I do, I'm going to do a farewell livestream and that's it.' Campanella, who described Duffy as fair and honest with a 'bit of an ego,' said he thinks the Colorado pastor might regret ever getting involved in the first place. He sees it in the videos Duffy posts on YouTube. 'He went from this nice, happy-go-lucky guy and now he's this evil villain of the flat-Earth world,' Campanella said.
