World5 min(s) read
According to a conspiracy theory that has been bouncing around social media for the past eight months, the Earth will lose gravity for 7.3 seconds at exactly 10:33am ET (2:33pm UTC) today.
If you are reading this, it hasn't happened yet.
Or perhaps it has, and you floated 60 feet into the air and came back down and just carried on with your day.
The theory is, obviously, complete nonsense.
NASA has said so. Physicists have said so - one publication described it as a conspiracy theory of 'a level of stupidity never before reached in the history of our species'.
Yet millions of people have engaged with it online. So here is what the claim actually says and why it is wrong.
On December 31, 2025, an Instagram user posted a video with text overlay reading: 'On August 12, 2026, the world will lose gravity for 7 seconds. NASA knows. They're preparing but won't tell us why.'
The caption went further.
It claimed a secret NASA document titled 'Project Anchor' had leaked online in November 2024.
The project allegedly had an $89 billion budget and a single goal - survive a 7-second gravitational anomaly expected on August 12, 2026, at 10:33am ET (14:33 UTC).
The post claimed the anomaly would be caused by two gravitational waves from black holes intersecting with Earth.
It said the event had been predicted in 2019 with a probability of 94.7%.
NASA had known for five years. They built bunkers for government leaders, scientists, military personnel, and 'selected citizens with genetic diversity'.
Everyone else, apparently, was on their own.
The theory breaks it down second by second.
In the first two seconds, anything not bolted down starts floating.
People, animals, cars, furniture. All of it.
Between seconds three and four, objects continue rising. People reach heights of 15 to 20 meters, roughly 50 to 65 feet, above the ground.
At 7.3 seconds, gravity returns. Everything comes crashing back down.
The post estimated 40 million deaths from falls. Infrastructure destruction. Economic collapse lasting over 10 years. Mass panic.
Gravity is not something Earth has like a battery or a switch.
It is a fundamental force that arises from mass.
As long as the Earth has mass, it has gravity. You cannot turn it off or pause it.
Two gravitational waves from distant black holes cannot override the gravitational pull of a 5.97 × 10²⁴ kilogram planet.
Gravitational waves do exist.
They were first detected in 2015 by the LIGO observatory.
But the waves that reach Earth from black hole mergers billions of light years away are incomprehensibly faint.
They stretch and compress space by less than the width of a proton. They do not cancel out gravity. They do not make people float. You cannot feel them.
A NASA spokesperson confirmed to Snopes that there is no 'Project Anchor', no leaked document, no $89 billion budget, and no predicted gravitational anomaly. 'There will be no loss of gravity on August 12, 2026,' NASA said.
But they would say that, wouldn't they?
The only real celestial event happening today is a total solar eclipse, visible from the Arctic to Spain.
Eclipses have been accurately predicted for thousands of years and do not affect gravity.
The original Instagram post went viral in early January 2026 and spread across TikTok, X, Reddit, 4chan, Bluesky, Facebook, and Threads within days.
Versions of the claim were translated into multiple languages.
Spin-off posts added new details - 11 scientists had supposedly died or gone missing. An independent physicist who confirmed the gravitational wave intersection had his paper retracted and vanished.
None of it was real. The scientists did not die. The physicist did not exist. The paper was never published.
Snopes rated the entire claim 'False'. IFLScience noted that August 12 was a clever date to pick because the real eclipse gives the theory a thin veneer of astronomical credibility. 'A good date for a rumour, as it has great SEO potential,' the outlet wrote. 'We checked.'
Because it was packaged well.
A specific date, a specific time down to the second, a named government agency and a leaked document with a budget figure.
The whole step-by-step breakdown of what would happen, explained with technical language about gravitational waves and black hole intersections.
It followed the same template as every viral conspiracy - take a real scientific concept, bolt a terrifying fictional scenario onto it, then add a government cover-up to explain why nobody official is confirming it.
The conspiracy also tapped into something real.
People do not trust institutions the way they used to.
When NASA says something is not happening, a growing number of people hear that as confirmation that it is.
In brief, nothing.
Gravity will continue to work.
You will remain on the ground. Your coffee will stay in your mug.
The Earth will keep orbiting the Sun at 67,000 miles per hour, held in place by the same gravitational force that has been operating without interruption for 4.5 billion years.
If you do float 60 feet into the air and come crashing back down at 10:33am, then fair enough. We were wrong. But we are not going to be wrong.
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Given the way the world is going, the end of time doesn't actually seem like that bad of an option, does it? I mean, let's be honest here, we're not in a great situation right now. We're on the brink of a terrifying world war, people are being poisoned and climate change is becoming a very real prospect. So, if there was to be a mystical planet that fancied crashing into earth and destroying mankind, would it really be that bad?
Well, luckily for us, some people believe that this is a very real prospect.
According to several conspiracy theorists, our world is set to end in dramatic circumstances, with the "death planet" Nibiru being the cause of our eventual demise.
Apparently, humankind will be obliterated and crushed to smithereens on April 23, so cancel your summer plans, quit your jobs and get out and enjoy your last two weeks on Earth!
The theory suggests that the moon, sun and Jupiter are going to align in Virgo, causing the start of the biblical rapture. This will trigger numerous catastrophic events, with the world seeing the rise of the Antichrist, the onset of World War III and seven years of Tribulation. However, the scariest part of this is all is that planet Nibiru - a planet that literally does not exist - will appear in the sky.
Of course, as with most of these theories, the Nibiru apocalypse has been predicted on numerous occasions but has never actually happened. David Meade, a man who had previously predicted the end of the world, said:
"By early April of 2018, the disappearance of the Church (all true Christians worldwide also known as the Rapture) will occur.
"This will be followed quickly by the rise of the Antichrist, the appearance of Planet X and World War III.
"Seven years of Tribulation will ensure. This is beyond any shadow of doubt."
Unfortunately for Meade and his merry band of conspiracy theorists, NASA has thoroughly debunked the Nibiru myth, saying:
"Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an Internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims.
"If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth, astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye."
If you're slightly confused about what Nibiru actually is, Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual, can explain:
"Zecharia Sitchin claims that Nibiru collided with a planet called Tiamat that was situated between Mars and Jupiter. The result was the creation of the asteroid belt and planet Earth.
"Nibiru is populated by the Anunnaki, an advanced humanoid race, who visited Earth thousands of years to mine gold in Africa. As an outcome of needing workers to carry out these mining operations, they used genetics to create Homo Sapiens.
"The popularity of these type of ideas makes it certain that every new discovery by our spaceships will be minutely studied for any evidence of Nibiru, or any other similar body that might be populated by extraterrestrials."
So, if you're a realist, this news will mean absolutely nothing to you. But, if you are someone who tends to lean towards conspiracies, it's time to batten down the hatches and plan for the end of the world.
As long as people have been alive, they've predicted the apocalypse. There are a lot of theories about how the world will end - nuclear war, a viral epidemic, global warming, killer robots, aliens that are total jerks, a giant asteroid if Bruce Willis can't blow it up in time. But all those theories are wrong. Now we know exactly how the world will end: Nibiru. And it's coming this Sunday. (So make sure to party hard on Saturday.)
Nibiru is a hypothetical planet on the edge of our solar system. It's also known as "Planet X," because that just sounds cool. You can't see it, but trust me, it's there. Conspiracy theorists believe the rogue planet orbits the sun every 3,600 years, and its "gravitational influence" can disrupt our solar system. If our solar system is Jerry Seinfeld's apartment, then Nibiru is Kramer. Is it any coincidence that Kramer's first name is Cosmos? I think not.
Conspiracy theorists have been talking about Planet X for twenty years, which their mothers say is the reason they're still single. They believe the next disruptive passage could happen at any moment, but hopefully not before the last season of Game of Thrones. During these disruptive passages, Nibiru will either trigger apocalyptic weather patterns, or smack into Earth, setting cataclysmic events in motion. They say Planet X is responsible for several disasters over the past year, like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the Trump presidency.
Originally, Nibiru was supposed to cause the apocalypse between September 20 and 23. Christian numerologist David Meade came up with this date based on the book of Revelations, clues written on the pyramids in Giza and the "biblical significance" of the number 33. Jesus allegedly lived for 33 years - therefore, Nibiru would strike the Earth 33 days after the solar eclipse. (And you just rolled your eyes 33 times reading that.) Anyway, Nibiru was, like, super tired, so it hit the snooze button.
Terral Croft, a writer for Planetxnews, explains the air-tight logic for the new doomsday schedule. Please save the date!
"Global seismic activity reaches a peak in the second two weeks of November moving into December 2017. The predicted backside alignment quake event is scheduled for November 19, 2017, when the Earth passes behind the sun relative to the Black Star [Nibiru]."
Unfortunately, those nerds at NASA issued a statement about Planet X, and are total buzzkills:
"The planet in question, Nibiru, doesn't exist.
Nibiru and other stories about wayward planets are an internet hoax. There is no factual basis for these claims.'
If Nibiru or Planet X were real and headed for an encounter with the Earth astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye."
Oh, sure, that's what NASA wants us to think. Nibiru truthers know the truth about Nibiru. They say it's all part of a conspiracy to "hide the truth" from the general population while the "global elite" escapes to the safety of secret underground bunkers.
To quote the great poet Shaggy 2 Dope of the Insane Clown Posse: "I don't wanna talk to a scientist / Y'all motherf-ckers lying, and getting me pissed." Truer words were never spoken.
Dr. David Morrison, an astronomer at NASA's Ames Research Center, tried to explain why Nibiru is a hoax, even though he's a lying liar who lies all the time:
"If a big object was coming into the solar system its gravity would perturb the orbits of the planets, and we would have detected that long before it came close to the Earth.
The planet's orbits are very regulated, and, if some massive object came along every so often and came through the inner solar system, it would all be screwed up, the planets would not be coplanar.
The moon would have been ejected, and obviously that is not the case."
Oh yeah, Dr. Morrison? Well, it's the middle of the day right now, and I don't see any moon. Could it have been...ejected? You just want us to be distracted, while you and Kim Kardashian and Barack Obama and the other global elites go hide in an underground bunker. Well, you're not going to fool us. We're coming. What do you think we are, idiots?
A man who claims to be a "time traveler from 2671" has issued a bizarre warning that seven people "will mysteriously fall from the sky" next year.
Eno Alaric - who goes by the handle @radianttimetraveller on TikTok - often posts videos featuring warnings and extraordinary predictions.
In his latest video, Alaric writes: "ATTENTION! I am a time traveler from the year 2671 and I am here to warn you about these five dates to come."
He then shares a list of unfounded predictions, including one that reads: "June 18, 2023: 7 people mysteriously fall from the sky, but there was nothing flying in that area."
Watch Alaric's TikTok below:The TikToker also shared other predictions in his video, writing: "November 30, 2022: The James Webb telescope discovers a planet that is a mirrored version of Earth," and "January 1, 2023: A plane flying over the Bermuda triangle goes missing."
"March 3, 2023: A message is received all around the world that seems to have come from the ocean," he writes, adding: "May 15, 2023: A 750ft mega-tsunami hits the California coast, mainly San Francisco."
As of this writing, the alleged time traveler's video has amassed 90.2K views and 3448 likes, with many users doubting the man's theories.
One user wrote: "Source: trust me, bro."
Another user highlighted one of his predictions, saying: "A 'mega tsunami' wouldn’t be contained to a city as tiny as San Francisco. That was just a plot point from The Abyss. That can’t actually happen."
A third user questioned: "if you [are] a real-time traveler, what did queen Elizabeth [write] in [the] letter [that] will be open in 2080?"
Meanwhile, a fourth user jokingly asked: "When is GTA 6 release date?"
However, other users on the social media platform were actually hoping that some of Alaric's predictions would come true.
One user said: "We are all making fun of him but watch him be right," while another remarked: "I know this ain’t real but I would want the first one to happen."
Alaric is not the only "time traveler" on the app. Another user - who goes by the name @timevoyaging - also claims to know the devastating fate of several countries in a new series of videos.
The user - who is hellbent on warning the world about potential forthcoming events - claims that Amsterdam will witness a disaster.
"Attention! Yes, I am a real time traveler, these are two major events to come in the Netherlands," they wrote, adding, "January 4, 2023: A bunker is discovered that has secrets from ancient civilizations."
For thousands of years, most of us have taken the roundness of our planet to be a fact of life - much in the same way that we know the Earth orbits the sun, or that pizza is the greatest invention to ever grace mankind. However, not everyone is so keen to accept that our globe is, well, a globe, and instead believe in the flat Earth theory.
One of the most famous flat Earthers is "Mad" Mike Hughes, a man who has already previously attempted to launch himself into the atmosphere in order to determine the shape of the planet. His last mission, which was set to take place in November 2017, never got off the ground - literally - when his rocket failed to launch.
But that didn't put him off one bit (though perhaps it should've), as the 61-year-old Californian crash-landed in the Mojave Desert yesterday after his most recent endeavor to find the truth.
"I don’t believe in science," Hughes said when he first announced his intention to fly his rocket into the air. "I know about aerodynamics and fluid dynamics and how things move through the air, about the certain size of rocket nozzles, and thrust. But that’s not science, that’s just a formula. There’s no difference between science and science fiction."
Unfortunately, it seems his knowledge of aerodynamics and rocket nozzles wasn't quite enough, as Hughes plummeted to the ground after reaching a height of 1,875 feet.
Thankfully, though, he'd had the good sense to equip his DIY craft with two parachutes - but his injuries still required an urgent trip to the hospital.
"Do I believe the Earth is shaped like a Frisbee? I believe it is, do I know for sure? No. That’s why I want to go up in space," he said before launching himself into the sky.
Hughes was convinced that the vessel, which was constructed using scrap metal and is powered by steam, would allow him to travel for approximately one mile into the air - high enough to see the curvature of the planet (or lack thereof) - but he never made it that far.
Still, he claims that he is pleased with what he did achieve.
"Am I glad I did it? Yeah. I guess. I’ll feel it in the morning," he said. "I won’t be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home and have dinner and see my cats tonight."
Regardless of his past failures, Hughes is still absolutely convinced that the world is flat, and believes that anybody who isn't questioning it is "an idiot".
"None of us are getting out of this world alive," he once said in an interview. "I like to do extraordinary things that no one else can do, and no one in the history of mankind has designed, built and launched himself in his own rocket."
Well, he might not have succeeded in proving the world is flat, but he certainly achieved a personal goal by building and flying his own rocket. Still, perhaps "Mad" Mike should stay put on the ground for now - at least until he's made a full recovery.
