First, they propose that an individual’s personal characteristics - personality, demographics, social circle, and more - may play a role. They defined their hypothesis around the idea that different people respond to media differently, affecting a person’s willingness to accept the Flat Earth Hypothesis. The authors of this study built upon these findings to further understand what kind of person is convinced by these arguments. Participants reported having found these videos via Youtube’s recommender, while watching other conspiracy theory videos. In some of their earlier work, they found that after interviewing participants at a major Flat Earth conference, the “vast majority” were convinced of the Flat Earth hypothesis from Youtube videos that they initially sought to debunk. As you might imagine, the Flat Earth Hypothesis contradicts the model of Earth as a spinning, 3-D “oblate spheroid” (an imperfect ball). What new treatments are there for neurodegenerative diseases?Ī group of scientists who study science communication at Texas Tech University wanted to understand more about the people who accept the Flat Earth Hypothesis.What new technology is coming around the corner?.

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Earth is flat conspiracy theory