Flat Earth Theory, I cant distinguish spoof from belief!

[SloeBerri]

Aibu to have been thinking it was a joke? I get a few flat earth memes on fb through an acquaintance, I thought they were spoofs. It’s slowed dawned they are serious, a mutual friend has confirmed this. There are clearly a fair few others too.

I’ve had a browse, but fb pages like the flat earth society... they seem written as a spoof? Is it an elaborate joke? A mix? How the hell did it come into fashion and why.

The acquaintance is into everything from anti-vax to chem trails, and although those are odd I can see how flawed logic follows through. Why would a conspiracy state the world is round... ?

I’m just bemused and struggling to make sense of this one...

Her answer for why there are no pictures and why she can't just to herself is because you get shot if you get too close...

I read somewhere that one theory is that flat earthers feel more in control when it comes to things like this - as in its easier for them to believe that the government control and hide everything than it is to believe that we are on our own, the world is full of chaos and we have no control of any of it. I thought that was quite interesting.

Flat earthers and other conspiracy theorists also have a (very misplaced) feeling of smug superiority. They like to think they are more knowing and have access to information that non believers don't have (in my opinion , of course). So when you protest, 'but hey, the earth isn't flat, what about all the photos?' etc, they can give a condescending smile and tell you that you are naive, and don't you realise they are photoshopped, you silly thing.
I know of two flat earthers and both of them have self esteem problems, so perhaps this is a weird way of boosting it. It is a waste of time discussing it with them because whatever perfectly logical argument you come up with, they will counter it with something so bat shit it hurts my brain.

Ask them to explain a lunar eclipse...
Why is the earth shadow round.
Ask why a ship appears to sink when it sails away, but can turn round and reappear... Also the view from on the ship. The land sinks.
Why you can see a more distant view if you go to the top of a tall building.
Also same with a sunset, sun reappears if you go up a lift and disappears a second time.

@x2boys maybe they're all Terry Pratchett fans, and are convinced we live on the Discworld?

Our government handed a multi million pound, cross-channel freight contract to a company that had no ships and copied and pasted the terms and conditions section of their website from a pizza delivery place
Here.

The current US president wants to build a wall to keep out people and drugs. Along a 3,145km border. Because that would stop everyone. Here

They couldn’t collectively organise a piss up in a brewery.

There was a Guardian video article on flat earther's the other week. I chuckled my way through it.

But yes, these people do exist. They say the earth is a disc with the North pole in the middle and Antarctica round the edge!

That would explain why Father Christmas lives at the North
Pole. Logistics innit.

My lovely friend is into all of this. She was fine, normal and clever.
Then she went travelling for a couple of years and came back AWAKE, she's found herself, and now is I honestly believe quite unwell. She bangs on about Chem trails, that everyone is a sheeple and follows some crazy earthquake prediction guy on YouTube as if he is god! It's all about THEM lying to us.
She has alienated most of her friends. It's awful to watch.

Are they generally quite paranoid people?

Is Jim Corr a flat-earther? He's quite the tinfoil hat sort isn't he?

So do none of you think that powerful people have more control and influence than you? I think they absolutely have more control and influence than me (which btw is scarry rather than comforting).

I should declare though, I do not think the earth is flat!

Theres a documentary about it all on Netflix at the moment

Called 'behind the curve'

Really interesting to get inside their minds

I met someone like this through OLD once. He reckoned the sky was blue because we were in an underwater dome. So I asked him who made this dome and he said “demons”. There was no second date

I have friends/acquaintances who are genuine believers. They think of the rest of us as 'ballers'. They also believe that contrails are chemical control of the masses.

The earth is not just flat. It is also square. Or maybe rectangular. Otherwise how could people go to the four corners of the earth?

Yy VelociraptorRex. The great a'tuin never seems to be mentioned by flat earthers though.

I believe it started off as a spoof but then some people began to to take it very seriously.

What I want to know is, do these flat Earthers think the sun, moon and other planets are flat too or just Earth?

The power and influence that the elite exert is mostly done quite openly.

How do you know that it is?

I've noticed that @tilder - they're clearly not proper devotees of this theory

I'm always intrigued as to how (as a pp said), given all the things that have happened over the centuries "the powers that be" have managed to agree on this one conspiracy being kept from us all...

My (otherwise fabulous) dh is a total flat earther/conspiracy theorist.
I have no idea why he came to be so (only started it in the last 5 years) but I tell you something. Its exhausting. Absolutely tiring to listen to the utter crap he spews at times. Its also made him a very angry person - he genuinely believes we are being lied to by everyone and he is special for knowing what 'he knows'.
I love the idiot but will no longer engage in conversation with him. Its a total waste of time and energy.

There are no pictures from the edge because of The Wall, sillies. It’s 5k miles tall and made of ice and anyone who gets too close is captured and sent to have their mind erased. Yes, there really is a force of watchers on the Wall. No, honestly, they protect us from the Things (aliens) beyond the Wall and from finding out the truth because we can’t handle the truth.

Some say George R R Martin has actually been there (and managed to evade capture and being sent to have have his memory erased) though they did send agents to break into his house and steal his camera, that’s why no pictures. Everything in GOT is true! Well, except the dragons, he made them up because dragons are mythological creatures and don’t really exist.

So how does the DH explain the photo's from space?
And mobile phones