The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has finally dispelled a viral conspiracy theory stating that the Earth would lose all gravity on August 12 at exactly 14:33 GMT.
The theory, which began to spread throughout social media platforms, claimed that the sudden absence of gravity would cause 40 million people around the world to die because of falls and other related incidents.
According to the claims being spread around the internet, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had been aware of the impending event but opted not to tell the public.
The theory went on to say the information had been uncovered via a leaked document from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) which was connected to an alleged initiative called “Project Anchor.”
Social media posts suggested that the space agency was secretly preparing for the supposed catastrophe.
NASA has been adamant in refuting these claims and says that there is no reason why such an event should happen.
The space agency has dismissed the claims outright and said people who have propagated the theory are really fundamentally misunderstanding how gravity works.
A fact-checking website, Snopes, quoted a spokesperson for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on the issue directly.
“The Earth won’t lose its gravity on August 12, 2026.” The spokesperson said, “Earth has a gravity as an effect of its mass.”
The statement went on to explain that the only possible way that Earth might lose its gravity is through the loss of its entire mass including its core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, terrestrial water, and oceans, none of which is possible.
Despite the fact that this has been explained by the US space agency, the conspiracy theory has persisted on the web. Several users have questioned the denial.
Others have been continuing to push the narrative further stating that the alleged “Program Anchor” of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has a budget of about $89 billion.
However, the existence of any such program has not been confirmed by the U.S. space agency, as stated, and the claims do not have any scientific basis.
The space agency has reiterated that Earth’s gravity is stable and has not changed and asked the public not to believe in unverified information spreading via social media speculation.
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