published6. June 2022, 8:33 PM
A picture is circulating on social media and Telegram that is supposed to show our earth as a flat disk. But the recording is a – bad – fake.
The claim was also circulated in French. Among other things, from a person who, according to their Twitter handle, is a QAnon follower. It is said to have come from a “Nasa hacker” who is said to have intercepted this image and others from one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellites.
Screenshot Twitter/
Mimikama.at mentions several points that show that the posts are more than questionable. Elon Musk’s satellites are not called SpaceX, but Starlink. SpaceX is the name of the space company. In addition, it is not known whether these Starlink satellites even have cameras on board, since their real purpose is to provide Internet connections for communication.
Wikimedia Commons/SpaceX/Starlink Mission/PD
“This is awesome! Do you understand the importance of this post?” With such euphoric words, Twitter user @ancronat shares the supposed sensational news, which according to him heralds “the end of the rotating billiard balls circling around the sun”. Attached is a Telegram screenshot that is said to provide evidence of the “Flat Earth”. The screenshot was widely shared on social media.
According to several posts, the photo is said to have “leaked” and been taken by a “SpaceX satellite” owned by US billionaire Elon Musk. Because the photo was allegedly not encrypted when it was transmitted to Earth, a “Nasa hacker” was able to intercept and publish it – according to the caption.
The claim was also circulated in French. Among other things, from a person who, according to their Twitter handle, is a QAnon follower. The continents can be seen in a distorted way on the attached photo – flanked by the sun and moon and surrounded by ice. But what it is supposed to show according to the posts does not show it at all, like research by the fact-checking platform Mimikama.at uncovers.
These points speak against the claims
First of all, Elon Musk’s satellites are not called SpaceX, but Starlink. SpaceX is the name of the space company. In addition, it is not known whether these Starlink satellites even have cameras on board, since their real purpose is to provide Internet connections for communication. And even if they had cameras, the photo would have to have been taken at an altitude of 550 kilometers – because that’s where the satellites orbit the earth. Since the sun and moon are visible in the photo, they should be closer than 550 kilometers to our planet – something that has long been disproved.
In addition, neither clouds nor a light source can be seen in the picture. Simultaneous lighting and the absence of clouds can also be seen in NASA photos, for example, but it is always explained that the photos were composed of several dozen photos and/or the clouds were digitally removed.
The research shows that this picture is definitely manipulated. However, there are many similar images. However, these are not photos of a “flat earth”, but so-called stereographic projections – i.e. a specific image that projects a sphere onto a plane. Besides, it was already three years ago used for memes – so it’s not new.
(heute.at/sp/fee)