The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has dismissed a viral conspiracy theory claiming that Earth would temporarily lose its gravity for seven seconds on August 12 at exactly 14:33 GMT.
The claim spread widely on social media, with posts alleging that the brief loss of gravity would cause mass chaos and result in the deaths of up to 40 million people worldwide due to falls.
The theory suggested that the gravity blackout would occur due to the gravitational effects of colliding black holes and that NASA was aware of the event but chose not to inform the public.
According to the conspiracy, the information was revealed through a leaked NASA document linked to an alleged initiative called “Project Anchor.” Some social media users also claimed the supposed program had a budget of approximately $89 billion.
NASA has firmly rejected the claims, stating that no such event is expected to occur. The space agency said the theory is based on a misunderstanding of how gravity works.
Fact-checking website Snopes quoted a NASA spokesperson as saying, “The Earth will not lose its gravity on August 12, 2026. Earth’s gravity is determined by its mass.”
The spokesperson added that the only way Earth could lose its gravity would be if it lost its mass entirely, including “its core, mantle, crust, atmosphere, terrestrial water, and ocean.”
Despite the clarification, speculation continued online. One user posted on X, formerly Twitter, “If this is fake, why does it have a date, a project name and a budget.”
NASA has not acknowledged the existence of any program called “Project Anchor” and has reiterated that the claims have no scientific basis.
what the hell is wrong with people that just believing that.