Fact-Checking Conspiracies
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon with thousands of people tuning in and watching live from their homes. Many soon saw this monumental event as a hoax, and it has become an example of how conspiracies start and can stick despite fact-checking.
The theory first began as a joke. The movie Diamonds Are Forever, released in 1971, showed James Bond running across a NASA film set, similar to the images of the Apollo 11 landing. However, the conspiracy did not kick start until Bill Kaysing, a Rocketdyne employee who worked for the U.S. space program from 1956-1963, published a pamphlet in 1976, We Never Went to the Moon: America’s Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle. Following with another movie adding to the fire, Peter Hyams Capricorn One was a 1978 film about a fake landing on Mars.
The conspiracy happened during a vital period of history when American citizens recently discovered that the Johnson administration lied about the Vietnam War as the Watergate scandal was fresh on their minds. The timing of Kaysing’s pamphlet release would be considered the first persuasive tactic for the consumer. Many questioned government honesty, which added to their wavering trust in the administration, making them likely to believe this falsehood.
Kaysing then used the next persuasive tactic, Extrapolation: he concluded why the moon landing was fake, ignoring the complexity of the event. First, the stars were not visible in the images. Second, the flag appeared to be waving. Third, the shadows were strange, seeming at different angles. Fourth, there was no crater or dust from the landing. Therefore, this must have taken place in a studio.
However, many professionals debunked these conclusions according to History, ASU, Insitute of Physics, etc. They took photos from a quick exposure camera, which caused the stars not to appear visible. The flag had an L-shaped pole, holding it up for a picturesque view. The shadows were caused by light scattering and reflecting off the lunar floor, while the lack of air on the moon resulted in no crater or dust from the landing.
The camera location was also a reason against the event, adding to the belief that the event took place at a studio. However, the cameras were on Armstrong and Aldrin’s chests because it would have been difficult to carry heavy equipment otherwise.
Despite the fact-checking, a few still believe today that the moon landing was a hoax, such as Joe Rogen and Shane Dawson. Statista Research Department sent out a survey in 2019 to respondents 18 and older in the U.S., asking if they believed the Apollo 11 landing was fake. 5% thought it was a hoax, while 61% disbelieved the theory. YouGov also had a poll in 2019 displaying that Britain’s older respondents over 55 were more likely to believe in the moon landing than those between 25 and 34.
The lesson from this conspiracy is that it is easy to get lost in conspiracy claims, but if consumers fact-check the information they receive, they will find the truth. Kaysing’s arguments sounded compelling, but truth prevailed because others took the time to fact-check his evidence. From this example, ask questions, research the topics, find the experts, and cross-reference for the truth. These are the tools against lies and conspiracies.