America has been absolutely awash in conspiracy theories in recent years, and the emergence of new ones seems to have reanimated old ones that, for quite some time, seemed to have faded away.
The absurd conspiracy theory that the Earth is actually flat is perhaps the primary example of this resurgence. And one man is going to great lengths to get "flat Earthers" to see the light -- literally.
Like many conspiracy theories, "flat Earth" content seems to have re-emerged during the end of the 2010s and then rapidly metastasized via YouTube during the pandemic, especially among the far- and alt-right. At this point, it's practically gone mainstream. What was once relegated to the more bizarre corners of the internet is now readily available on TikTok, for instance.
Cut to 2021, when pastor Will Duffy of Denver, Colorado, had an experience that a lot of us have had in recent years, especially if we have right-wing and/or Evangelical Christian family and friends: He was shocked to see an old friend suddenly posting bizarre and ludicrous flat Earth content on Facebook.
So he recently decided to take matters into his own hands and to prove once and for all to a handful of influencers in the Flat Earth conspiracy world that their theory cannot possibly be correct, using the linchpin of the theory itself, Antarctica.
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The flat Earth theory has lots of moving parts, but it ultimately all hinges on Antarctica. Most followers contend that the Earth is actually a flat disc. But of course, if this were true, ships would sail off the edge, right?
This is where Antarctica comes in. Most flat Earthers believe the Earth is essentially made up of three parts: the Arctic, or North Pole, which is in the center of the flat disc; the other continents arranged in a ring around the North Pole; and then Antarctica in a third ring on the outside.
Antarctica, however, in this theory, is not so much a landmass as a giant "ice wall" that surrounds the Earth. Some flat Earthers believe this wall is the barrier around the edge of the flat disc, while others believe that the ice wall is actually infinite, stretching off forever.
In any case, both versions of the theory hinge on Antarctica, and believers have long said that traveling there would prove them right. However, many have also contended that it is impossible to go to the Antarctic because of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, which forbids people from visiting.
This is completely false. If you've got about $30,000 lying around, you can literally go to Antarctica on vacation if you want. The 1959 Treaty simply made a rule among the 12 nations most active there that it should be used for peaceful purposes only and be free of military activity. But it does not forbid people from visiting.
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Much like summer in Alaska or parts of Scandinavia, during the height of summer in Antarctica (which occurs during the northern hemisphere's winter), the sun does not set because the tilt of the Earth basically aims the area directly at the sun.
Since sunrises and sunsets are primarily created by the Earth's rotation on its axis and not the sun's orbit through the Milky Way (which is much, much slower than the Earth's), the Arctic and Antarctic are in direct sunlight 24 hours a day during the height of their summers.
Flat Earthers contend, however, that this is nonsense and a visit to Antarctica in the summer would disprove this -- if only the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 didn't forbid them from going. They claim this is the express purpose of the Treaty -- to hide the truth about the Earth being flat and the Antarctic being an ice wall.
So Pastor Duffy "decided the easiest solution would be to just go to Antarctica" during the height of summer. He called the event, which he organized over the weekend of December 14, a week before the Southern Hemisphere's Summer Solstice, The Final Experiment.
"I created The Final Experiment to end this debate, once and for all," he wrote in a press release. "After we go to Antarctica, no one has to waste any more time debating the shape of the Earth."
Surprisingly, basically no one in Duffy's "Final Experiment" has worked on the Flat Earthers he sent down to the South Pole. One of them, an influencer on the topic named Jeran Campanella, has gone viral for his take on what he witnessed in Antarctica in recent days.
"Sometimes you're wrong in life," Campanella said in a video Duffy filmed in Antarctica with him and three other Flat Earth influencers. "I thought that there was no 24-hour sun," Campanella went on to say. "In fact, I was pretty sure of it." His trip with Duffy changed his tune entirely. "It's a fact. The sun does circle you in the south."
But it's what Campanella said next that is perhaps most revealing. "I realize that I'll be called a shill for just saying that," he said, seemingly rattled by the blowback he expects to receive as he subtly walked back his revelation. "It doesn't mean that... flat Earth is over," he said. "Maybe somebody's got the answer. I don't have that answer right now."
Sure enough, flat Earth conspiracists have immediately swarmed social media to angrily accuse Campanella, Duffy, and the others of lying about what they saw and faking the Final Experiment videos filmed in Antarctica with a green screen.
It just goes to show that some people are so far gone down their rabbit holes that nothing will dissuade them. But it's important to note that these naysayers seem to be in the minority, and the change in the influencers who joined Duffy is sure to have an impact.
As one YouTube viewer put it, "This experiment has proven a lot more than just that Earth is round... It shows that when ppl unite to honestly work together for the truth, that it can be done." Thank goodness people like Duffy are willing to go to the necessary lengths to do so.
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