Why do some people believe Earth to be 'flat'

NEW DELHI: It was the Greek philosophers who first suggested that the shape of our planet is not flat.


Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher in the 5th century BC, was the first who alluded to the spherical nature of Earth. Plato, another Greek philosopher, had "conviction" that the Earth is round. Evidence of Earth's spherical shape was further established by Plato's student Aristotle.

Since then numerous other studies have not only established the spherical nature of our planet but also conducted extensive research to figure out various other characteristics and phenomenons which further points towards Earth's sphericity. Barring one group.

The

flat-earthers

. This group, like Plato, have a firm conviction that our planet Earth is a flat surface.

Why flat-earthers believe the Earth to be flat?
Walking over the surface of Earth feels like you are walking on a flat surface and hence, Earth is flat and not spherical, they argue.

They allege that the spherical Earth theory is a "global" conspiracy planted and promoted by Nasa and various other governmental organisations.

According to flat-earthers, Earth is a disc with the Arctic Circle in the centre and Antarctica, a 150-foot-tall wall of ice, around the rim.

This wall is 24X7 guarded by Nasa employees to prevent people from climbing it.

According to

Flat Earth

Society, no one has been very far past the ice wall and returned to tell of their journey.

"What we do know is that it encircles the Earth and serves to hold in our oceans and helps protect us from whatever lies beyond," according to the group.

They accuse Nasa of "photoshopping" its satellite images based on the "evidence" that the colour of the ocean is different in each image.

However, they do believe that the other planets are spherical.

Why are flat-earthers gaining popularity?The International Flat Earth Research Society (IFERS), better known as the Flat Earth Society was set up in 1956 by Samuel Shenton in Dover, UK.

Though the concept of a flat Earth has floated around since ages, it is only in the last few years, that the group has gained popularity with the help of social media.

Youtube has been criticised for allowing the spread of pseudo-scientific ideas, misinformation and conspiracy theories. Following which, in 2019, YouTube stated that it was making changes in its software to reduce the distribution of videos based on conspiracy theories including flat Earth.

The flat-earthers, thanks to the massive reach of the internet, have a presence in various parts of the "globe", including India.

There are several groups and pages on Facebook promoting the

flat Earth theory

. Some of the pages have as many as over 200,000 likes. There was also an Indian chapter of the group, The Flat Earth- Society. The page went defunct in 2017 and has 200 followers.