Flat-Earthers Conclude That Australia is Just a Hoax

From 9/11 “Truthers” to QAnon devotees, millions of people worldwide either believe in conspiracy theories or are fascinated by them. Interestingly, if you’ve been convinced by one conspiracy theory, scientists have found that you’re far more susceptible to others. That is, perhaps, why people come to believe in truly bizarre propositions like the Earth being flat. 

Conspiracy theories pre-date the internet. From Victor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning all the way back to prehistory, there’s evidence that crisis situations inspire humans to come up with all manner of wild theories. 

As mentioned before, it’s generally crisis events that inspire conspiracy theories. A strong of related examples include the assassination of JFK, the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe, and the tragedies that plagued Jacqueline Kennedy after the tragic death of her husband. 

Among the doubters, 5% claimed to simply be skeptical, while 2% were firm in their belief that the world is, in fact, flat. As you can see from the image below, Flat Earthers think the world is a flat disc surrounded by a wall of ice. 

Around the 5th century BCE, we find the earliest evidence of humans understanding the spherical shape of the planet. However, our knowledge of the shape of the Earth may pre-date these documents from the Ancient Greeks.

People have many reasons for believing wild theories. However, in the case of Flat Earth, celebrities have been responsible for adding weight to the movement. For example, basketballer Kyrie Irving promoted the idea during an interview in 2017. Why anyone would take scientific advice from an athlete is beyond us, but there you go. 

Rapper B.o.B. (aka Bobby Ray Simmons Jr.) also spoke publicly about the Flat Earth movement. In 2015, he tweeted, “No matter how high in elevation you are… the horizon is always eye level. I’m going up against the greatest liars in history. You’ve been tremendously deceived.”

As it gained attention from such celebrity endorsements, the Flat Earth movement grew. By 2018, they were hosting international conventions, with the first one taking place in the UK. Though the turnout wasn’t huge (they had around 200 people show up), it’s still wild to think that anyone at all wanted to discuss the idea that we might be living on a flat disc surrounded by a mysterious ice wall. 

We must admit, some of their maps are quite beautiful – easily debunked, but beautiful nonetheless. The style of the attendees at the first convention was equally surprising. From off-grid environmentalists to slick corporate professionals, the crowd featured an eclectic mix of personalities. 

Fans of the YouTube channel Professor Dave Explains may be familiar with the Flat Earth idea of an electromagnetic universe. The channel’s host, Dave Farina, has spoken at length with Flat Earth proponents about this theory, successfully debunking the pseudoscience that underpins it. 

With the background information covered, we can now dive into our main topic for today – do Flat Earthers really believe that Australia is a fictional place made up by NASA? We can confirm that there is a notion out there that this southern-hemisphere country isn’t real. We’ll get to whether Flat Earthers genuinely believe it in a moment. 

The first mention of the Australia hoax came on Facebook in March 2017. A woman by the name of Shelley Floryd went into great detail in her claim that Australia is a made-up place. In Shelley’s words, any proof of Australia’s existence is little more than “well-fabricated lies and documents made by the leading governments of the world.” 

Australians obviously argued for their veracity, but then paid actors would do that, wouldn’t they? In response to the many questions she received, Shelley explained that pilots and flight attendants are in on the hoax, as are newscasters and anyone else who claims to come from Australia. 

Shelley claimed that the powers that be had more than one reason to invent Australia. In addition to supporting the “fake” idea of a northern and southern hemisphere, she insisted that the invention of Australia was a way for the Brits to cover up the mass murder of convicts. 

It’s true that the British have been responsible for an astonishing number of atrocities over the years. So, Shelley didn’t think it unreasonable to add one more to the mix. She declared that Australia is simply “a codeword for the cold-blooded murder of more than 100,000 people.” Point made, she encouraged people to “stand up for the truth” and spread the word. 

Thankfully, it turns out that Shelley wasn’t truly convinced that Australia isn’t real. Instead, she created her post as a pointed joke – one aimed at highlighting the absurdity of the Flat Earth movement and its beliefs. 

If you explore Flat Earth forums and dig into their outlandish literature, you will find that many people genuinely think Australia might be a hoax. However, this is one of their shakier beliefs as it would involve a global conspiracy of an impossible magnitude with millions of people involved and not a single whistleblower lending their voice to the “debate.”

One poster wrote that “the Australia conspiracy is much bigger than the flat Earth conspiracy.” Clearly, this is where Shelley drew her inspiration in creating her “Australia is a hoax” post on Facebook. 

Obviously, Australians and those who know people in Australia have had a lot to say. Below a Guardian article about the phenomenon, one user wrote, “If Australia doesn’t exist, a good number of my relatives have been very successful at hiding from me.” 

Thankfully, Australians are known for their laid-back attitudes, so they weren’t too miffed about the ridiculous theory. In fact, it tends to inspire plenty of sarcastic posts and hilarious quips every time it resurfaces on social media. 

We can kind of understand how a Scottish shut-in might doubt the existence of Australia. After all, it’s easy to doubt the presence of a place you’ve never visited. However, you have to wonder how on Earth someone who lives in Australia could entertain Flat Earth Theory.