NASA Addresses Gravity Conspiracy Theories
NASA has reassured everyone that the viral conspiracy theory suggesting a temporary disappearance of Earth’s gravity this Wednesday is entirely unfounded.
The agency explained to Snopes that gravity is determined by Earth’s mass, a basic principle from science class. “The only way for Earth to lose gravity is to lose mass,” NASA elaborated, dismissing claims about a gravitational anomaly set to arrive on August 12, 2026.
This clarification comes in response to alarming rumors circulating on social media since late 2025, predicting a catastrophic event involving a gravitational disruption. As the date draws near, excitement—and panic—has surged.
Interestingly, Google reported a 60% increase in online searches for terms like “gravity” this week.
The conspiracy theory included outlandish claims about leaked documents related to “Project Anchor,” allegedly an $89 billion initiative aimed at preparing for disasters linked to gravitational shifts.
According to the theory, a crossing of gravitational waves from a black hole would cause Earth to lose gravity for about seven seconds on Wednesday at 10:33 a.m. ET, resulting in chaos as everything not grounded would float up to 65 feet into the air. Buildings, they said, would collapse, leading to catastrophic consequences, including tens of millions of deaths and a long-term economic collapse.
The theory suggested that NASA and the government were building bunkers for key officials and select individuals to ensure genetic diversity for future repopulation efforts. However, this idea, unsurprisingly, didn’t hold up under scrutiny. Snopes traced the origin back to a December 2025 Instagram post riddled with fabricated stories created by AI.
The viral theories gained traction as the public learned about a unique convergence of cosmic events—a solar eclipse, planetary alignments, and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower—occurring on the same day.
Still, NASA clarified that these celestial events have no bearing on Earth’s gravity. “A total solar eclipse does not affect Earth’s gravity in any unusual way,” they stated, adding that while the Sun and Moon’s gravitational pull influences tidal forces, it doesn’t change the total gravity of Earth.
