Flat Earth vs. Round Earth | Explorer

You think that with the beautiful photographs that we have of our round blue planet, it would convince any doubters. But there are still some who insist that the world is flat. Correspondent Mariana van Zeller discovers more about this fast-growing movement in California.

I'm Mariana van Zeller, and I'm in Southern California to look into a growing movement in America: people who claim the earth is flat. They call themselves the Flat Earthers, and we're here to try to understand what's behind this unconventional view and how it can affect the rest of us.

So, what's happening here today? Why are you here?

"This matters to me," a participant says. "Flattered that shows you that you are not a mistake and you were created. And so you have meaning in matter. We're not monkeys floating through space on the false maxim that testable. It's not measurable; it's not provable; it's not real."

How old are you guys, just out of curiosity? Do you think it's a growing movement?

"Yes, and we're networking and getting stronger. People are realizing it; it's coming out in the media. You're hearing the term Flat Earth. This is becoming more normal. People are more open-minded to it."

He's not wrong. A recent survey of Americans found that two percent believe the Earth is flat. For the U.S. population as a whole, that works out to be over 6.5 million people. Even high-profile artists and athletes are getting on board.

I want to try to find Mark Sargent, who's one of the leaders of the Flat Earth community.

"Nice to see you, man."

Mark used to design video games and run software trainings; now he devotes himself full-time to promoting the Flat Earth.

"With all the attention that you must be," I say.

"Mark Sargent," he replies. "I am Mark Sargent. Thanks for meeting us here; it's a pleasure to be here."

So tell me, what is this movement all about?

"This movement is about changing the world, literally. You think for the longest time that you live here. But what if it wasn't this? What if this was just the illusion? Yeah, we're gonna open this thing up, and the reality looks something like this. In a nutshell, you have the North Pole at the center. The continents are splayed out organically on the sides; Antarctica is stretched around the entire outer edge, like an ice ball. The Sun in the morning is very, very small, and the stars are just lights in the sky— a giant planet area—which means it's built by somebody, someone bigger than us, someone better than us."

"Do you think it was a god?"

"Not my place to say."

Your belief in the Earth being flat flies in the face of hundreds of the world. Not only that; we have satellite imagery, we have photos from space, and nobody here believes any of that anymore.

"So you don't believe that people travel in space?"

"No. Oh, it's much worse than you know. Meaning, the only reason NASA was founded in 1958 was to keep this thing under wraps as best they could be big. Think of the shockwaves if all of a sudden you're telling a civilization that this model—this is an it anymore. Flat Earthers is the last conspiracy anyone ever looks at."

Mark and his fellow Flat Earthers seem to be pretty convinced that the Earth is flat and that we've all been lied to for all these years. But I'm interested in knowing what impact this might have, not only for science but for society at large.

So we're heading to meet with an astrophysicist that we hope can answer some of these questions.

"The universe began about fourteen billion years ago, an event that we call the Big Bang," says James Bullock, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of California, Irvine. He specializes in how galaxies formed.

"Did you ever think a few years ago that you'd be having this discussion for National Geographic?"

"It's frankly shocking. We've known for 2,000 years, based on observations you can make with your own eyes, that the world is round. They have all the evidence right in front of them, and they still choose not to believe it. You know who knows what motivates people from the inside to believe these things, but science is important. Science is valuable. Science saves lives; it makes our lives better and more comfortable, and it enriches us intellectually. To question what scientists are saying and suggest they're part of some massive international global conspiracy—it's really scary."

"Are they a threat to the work that you do as a scientist?"

"If, say, government stops funding science because of some kind of anti-science, anti-intellectual feedback they're getting from the populace, that's when it really starts getting dangerous for our civilization."

And as the war on science heats up, some Americans are fighting back. We're heading to the largest lake in California to meet the Independent Investigations Group, which is a group that essentially debunks paranormal claims, and they want to do a round Earth task—may that be a test that will prove that the Earth is not flat but that it is round.

"Let's go! We're ready to launch. You ready, Craig?"

"Okay, so what's happening here right now?"

"This is the boat base target; it's horizontal stripes. We're gonna launch a small boat out into the water here with a striped target, and as it gets farther and farther out, you'll start to lose the stripes. One way that Aristotle proved 2,000 years ago that the Earth is a sphere was with a boat's test very similar to this one. As a boat approaches the horizon, it appears to slowly dip down into the water before disappearing completely. That's got everything to do with the curvature of the Earth. If the planet was flat, the entire boat would remain visible, so it'll be a very visual depiction of the curvature of the Earth. And what's really interesting is that some of the Flat Earthers, including Mark Sargent, are actually going to be here for this test. They want to see it for themselves."

"What do you think is gonna happen here today?"

"I appreciate the scientific group coming out and trying to do this test. Greatly appreciate the enthusiasm, but cannot work. Can't work."

"Okay, so the test is starting."

"The test is starting right now. At first, all the stripes are clearly visible, but sure enough, as the boat reaches the horizon, the stripes begin to disappear one by one. It's pretty amazing; you can actually see it really clearly with this camera here, and you see that the red stripe, 'cause that was at the bottom, has completely disappeared, and it's now getting closer to sort of the middle green. We've lost about one and a half stripes, so this can only happen because of the curvature of the Earth."

But Mark Sargent and the other Flat Earthers have a very different interpretation of the results.

"So you don't think that what we're seeing is actually real? You think it's because—"

"Oh yeah, here in Flat Earth. Believe it; it's a globe."

"Mister demonstration, that doesn't change anyone's opinion."

"Mark, do you really believe this stuff? Tell me the truth; I'm serious!"

"Right, absolutely. 100% believe we are not on a globe. We are part of a giant studio set; all the world's a stage, and you're on it."

"I still don't understand that. Like, who's gaining from all this? From this larger exclusive?"

"The highest authority, higher than presidents—this super-rich people that are behind the scenes. Remember, the first rule of power is to stay hidden."

So this is for me where I think it gets really dangerous because we're going back into the dark ages.

"All right, you're essentially perpetuating ignorance by denying science. You know there's a real-life implication in all of this. Science has had its chance, and they aren't putting up a defense."

"I think that the flat Earth could potentially sure in a new golden age, or it could sure in an age of chaos. It's easy to dismiss this as just a silly theory and unimportant, but the problem is that it is a growing movement in America. More and more young people seem to believe that the world is flat, and you know it's more than just distrust in government. It's this notion that thousands of years of empirical scientific evidence is now being dismissed as a mere conspiracy, and that's where I think it really starts getting dangerous for all of us."