We perceive that we’re within the age of misinformation, the post-truth period, a time of AI slop making probably the most silly claims, however come on. The Earth won’t cease having gravity for a random time on a random date this 12 months. How? And Why??? Gravity shouldn’t be one thing you turn on and off; even elementary faculty youngsters know this.
I wish to inform you that I’ve now bought this rant out of my system, however I can’t. The entire concept is making the concept that Stanley Kubrick staged the Moon touchdown look critical compared. So let’s get into it.
“NASA is aware of”
As reported by Snopes, a TikToker and Instagram person (whose account is now unavailable) claims that “On August 12, 2026, the world will lose gravity for 7 seconds. NASA is aware of. They’re making ready however will not inform us why.” The video has had nearly 62,000 likes and has been shared 268,000 instances on Instagram alone.
How does this particular person know all this? A leaked NASA doc: Challenge Anchor, reportedly leaked in November 2024 and with an $89 billion finances. The anticipated “falling” casualties are within the 40-60 million, which is definitely massively low contemplating the variety of individuals which are open air at any given second all around the world.
Eclipses and the apocalypse
August 12, 2026, was a really good selection with regards to making an end-of-the-world conspiracy idea, as it’s the date of this 12 months’s total solar eclipse that might be seen from the Arctic to Spain. Folks like to hyperlink eclipses to dooms, as if many various civilizations haven’t been in a position to predict them for 1000’s of years
Then we now have the 7 seconds, and it is extremely humorous how they’ve damaged down what happens in that point. Folks (animals, something not locked down) begin floating within the first 2 seconds, then will proceed to rise in the course of the 3-4 second interval, reaching 15 to twenty meters (49 to 65 toes) within the air.
Now, the first law of dynamics exhibits {that a} physique at relaxation will stay at relaxation except an outdoor pressure acts on it, and a physique in movement at a relentless velocity will stay in movement in a straight line except acted upon by an outdoor pressure.
Beneath gravity, you may have an equal and reverse response, pushing off the ground. With gravity magically gone, that response will push you off, however it is going to be small. Except you bounce on the proper time, you aren’t getting 20 meters up within the air… however wait, there’s extra.
The finale is that at 7.3 seconds, inexplicably, gravity returns and the whole lot comes crashing down.
Is there any logic behind this foolish rumor?
So, what’s going to trigger this momentary blip in gravity?
In line with the rumor mill: “The intersection of two gravitational waves from black holes, predicted in 2019 with a chance of 94.7%. NASA has recognized about this for 5 years.” It’s spectacular what number of issues one can get fallacious in a single sentence. Let’s break it down.
Gravitational waves are extraordinarily weak, so weak that we needed to construct detectors that carry out the most accurate measurement in the history of humanity to detect them. On high of that, the gravitational wave indicators signify solely the ultimate seconds of the collisions, not one thing that we will see prematurely.
Provided that gravitational waves transfer on the velocity of sunshine, if NASA can now predict them, they will need to have some fairly physics-defying expertise. On high of all that, NASA doesn’t research gravitational waves: it is the LIGO- Virgo-KAGRA collaboration that observes them.
So how might the Earth lose its gravity? Properly, principally, you want the planet to lose mass and quick. By some means do away with the core, mantle, crust… oops, you don’t have a planet anymore! When you’ve got an object with mass, that object will produce a gravitational subject. There is not any strategy to cease it with out eliminating the mass.
There are sufficient actual threats on the earth, from the local weather disaster to international well being issues, mixed with governments ignoring the need for vital and immediate action, and in some instances, exacerbating them.
You do not have to make stuff up, just like the planet’s gravity is popping itself off, to scare individuals for clicks.
An earlier version of this article was revealed in January 2026.
