World3 min(s) read
Published 13:30 12 Aug 2026 GMT
A bizarre conspiracy theory claiming the Earth will suddenly lose gravity for several seconds has been spreading across social media for months, but NASA has firmly dispelled it as misinformation.
The theory claims that at exactly 10:33AM ET (2:33PM UTC) today, the planet will experience a temporary gravitational anomaly lasting around seven seconds.
According to the posts circulating online, the event would cause people, animals, cars and other objects to become airborne before crashing back to Earth when gravity supposedly returns.
The extraordinary claim has attracted millions of views online, despite scientists repeatedly explaining that there is no evidence it could materialize.
The conspiracy can reportedly be traced back to a social media post published on December 31, 2025.
An Instagram video claimed: “On August 12, 2026, the world will lose gravity for seven seconds. NASA knows. They're preparing but won't tell us why.”
According to the fictional scenario, NASA had supposedly launched an $89 billion initiative called “Project Anchor” to prepare for the event.
The alleged cause? Two gravitational waves generated by black holes supposedly intersecting with Earth.
The posts claimed the event had been predicted in 2019 with a 94.7% probability and that NASA had secretly spent five years preparing for it.
Some versions of the theory even claimed government officials, scientists, military personnel and supposedly “selected citizens with genetic diversity” had been provided with underground bunkers.
Everyone else, apparently, would be left to fend for themselves.
The conspiracy theory goes into extraordinary detail about what would allegedly come to pass during the seven-second event.
It claims that during the first couple of seconds, anything not attached to the ground would begin floating.
People, animals, cars, and furniture would supposedly rise into the air, with some versions claiming people could reach heights of between 15 and 20 metres, roughly 50 to 65 feet.
When gravity supposedly returned after 7.3 seconds, everything would come crashing back down.
The fictional disaster allegedly would cause around 40 million deaths, widespread infrastructure destruction and an economic collapse lasting more than a decade.
But there is one rather significant problem with the theory: there is no scientific evidence that any of this is going to take place.
NASA has directly addressed the viral rumors, explaining that Earth's gravity is determined by the planet's mass.
“Earth's gravity, or total gravitational force, is determined by its mass,” the agency told fact-checking website Snopes.
“The only way for the Earth to lose gravity would be for the Earth system, the combined mass of its core, mantle, crust, ocean, terrestrial water, and atmosphere, to lose mass,” NASA added.
“The Earth will not lose gravity on August 12, 2026.”
