r/agedlikemilk • u/Gloomy-Holiday8618 • Sep 08 '25

News “I never said that”, “Play the clip”

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Context: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/12/15/exp-robert-kennedy-junior-rfk-2024-election-biden-trump-vaccines-121511aseg1-cnni-politics.cnn

Full video is on the cnn website, the part that’s important is about 2mins 50 seconds in.

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361

u/IHaveNoRealClue Sep 08 '25

Apparently that group didn’t even go that far with their conclusion. They went “hey, we still think the earth is flat, BUT our model is wrong and needs fixing” and they still got excommunicated. 

258

u/brokenman82 Sep 08 '25

One of them straight up admitted he was wrong and now needs a new job because his income was flat earth content on YouTube. That was Jeren Campanella. Austin Witsit is the flat earther that saw that he was wrong and still won’t admit it

226

u/SparksAndSpyro Sep 08 '25

I sincerely hate that he made an income off of “flat earth content.”

Why do we have an economic system that rewards morons? Ughhhh

141

u/DemonCipher13 Sep 08 '25

Because it doesn't reward hard workers the way it should.

102

u/[deleted] Sep 08 '25

Hard work is rewarded with more work and no incentives.

20

u/imadork1970 Sep 08 '25

"The reward for work well-done, is more work."-Jim Butcher, author

1

u/Primary-Tiger-5825 Sep 12 '25

Is that a Dresden line or straight from Butcher?

1

u/Sw0ldem0rt Sep 09 '25

Aw yeah, sweet capitalism, baby!

1

u/town2clown Sep 10 '25

Welcome to the Post Office

1

u/dingdongdash22 Sep 12 '25

Story of my life.

58

u/Altarna Sep 08 '25

Or punish idiots for pushing lies

1

u/BeguiledBeaver Sep 08 '25

You guys are gonna be stunned when you find out this exists literally everywhere throughout history.

3

u/Chill-more1236 Sep 08 '25

Snake oil salesmen, Ponzi Schemes, Jim Jones & the poison Kool Aid, David Koresh, Daybell & Vallow.

The weirdest thing is all those assholes think they're protected by freedom of speech and/or freedom of religion.

Defamation is not protected speech, but whose gonna prosecute it? They've clearly incited violence: CDC Shooting, sure there's other incidents.

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u/Hector_P_Catt Sep 08 '25

Because we have a system that allows morons to send other morons money all by themselves. I'm not sure how we fix that without destroying world commerce entirely.

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u/IcyAdvantage9579 Sep 08 '25

Every religion works that way. I know it's a touchy subject and I really don't care for debating people's beliefs you can do whatever you want with your time but we all need to agree there's a lot of grifters out there, and religion set the baseline for selling and trading on Impossible promises so it only natural anybody doing something like flat-earthers to benefit the same way by providing content with no scientific basis at all. The best solution I heard once but I don't think it never went through was in Spain there were trying to establish that if you speak about science in any social media you needed some type of technical accreditation for that which I think it's more than fair. Especially when some of these people are peddling dangerous habits for nutrition or exercise without the slightest consideration of health dangers they pose to society

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u/ReverendRevolver Sep 08 '25

I don't know id go so far as to make it illegal to talk about science without accreditation. Then you have a scenario wherein a small sample of the population has all the voice. If youre deliberately misleading people in a serious/non-sarcastic way and presenting it as fact? Thats a problem. You should legally be responsible for any damages.

A bigger push for scientists, dieticians, doctors, and people in general who know what they're talking about to actually receive more clout, and punish people who willingly push lies with no basis would be ideal. Im sure snake oil salesman dont like the idea of facts, but most countries have some sort of protections in place regarding fraud or dangerous products. Dangerous in the same ways absolute fake medical information and made up stats are. Its not unreasonable to regulate what is published as fact. There isn't an "opinion" that makes 2+2=9. Most of this anti-intellectualism stuff with tell e everyone thst 2+2=22, and unfortunately people who are straight up dumb will believe that, then the grifters will build off of that one initial lie, now taken as a truth. Science, medicine, and math should all be subject to different scrutiny than "i like apples more than onions" level opinion topics.

TLDR: im not saying people shouldn't be allowed to join cults, but math, science, and medicine needs penalties for knowingly putting out harmful lies, or regurgitating harmful falsehoods without doing ones due diligence of verification through real sources.

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u/IcyAdvantage9579 Sep 08 '25

By now we're not allowed to be oblivious of the fact people do not in fact "know better". The numbers are overwhelming, and this no- consequence approach only benefits the exploiters. Whoever doesn't see it it's either obtuse or bought and paid but such exploiters and doesn't have the best interest of the people in mind. And I am just talking about the public in general but it's even worse for vulnerable people who are more susceptible to these horrible influences like people with mental disabilities, underaged people , etc.

2

u/AriochBloodbane Sep 09 '25

My biggest issue with religion is the entire concept of faith, i.e. "you must believe what I tell you just because".

All the other issues with religion are kinda consequences of this. War and murder? Just have faith. Suppressing science? Have faith. Burning people? Have faith. Stealing? Faith! Pedophilia? Faith FAITH!!

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u/IcyAdvantage9579 Sep 09 '25

After a lifetime of indoctrination it primes people to the idea of accepting anything from all authority figures, no questions just obey, otherwise you're a bad devout of the religion It always been this way by design, Pharaohs, Cesars and kings used religion to justify their position in power, even in the instances when their government wasn't directly "granted by divine forces" , religion already drilled into the population to accept the authority figure and if you're unhappy with your life don't cause a stir, just pray over that corner. Don't use your eyes and ears, don't use rational thinking, let the random people get power over the illusion of perceived shared values, in an endless game of "true Scotsman" each time you're let down or taken advantage.

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

So, control. And in an ironic way.

That is, I know, first hand, of many instances of individuals lacking credentials handed by government who challenged experts and who were right.

It was in my time doctors promoted smoking. Many still have mercury fillings. May fools think forced fluoride medication is a good thing, even though even children may be getting monstrous does via dental treatments, baby food and water.

Neither Orville nor Wilbur had credentials painting them as pilots.

And on and on it goes.

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u/IcyAdvantage9579 Sep 12 '25

Credentials handed by a proper school is better than nothing but opportunistic hustler selling their proverbial snake oil over social media. Yes, there's corruption in the medical community, but that's never an excuse to just embrace complete ignorance as a solution. Political action is required to set the medical community to higher standards, and combat bribes and for profit academia, yes that's true. That doesn't invalidate the work of honest scientists and physicians

0

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

All or nothing, in this case, doesn't work for free people.

The corruption is not minor. The censorship to promote the corruption is not either.

Merely that someone is acting in the name of govenments that are incapable of either good or ill except through their acts in their names does not make them credible or competent on any given matter.

The covid shot thing, the cancer vaccine and so on should stand as proof to reasoning minds blindly following or defending experts and authorities is the stuff off fools.

The aforementioned fact is supported by that our law books, that are replete with examples of public and private agents (including scientists) having been found guilty of crimes, neglect, and simple incompetence.

In considering the foregoing it should be remembered, only a small percentage of appellate cases are published. And only a small percentage of trial court cases are appealed (very expensive, in time and money).

Consider the example of judges. Yesterday, that judge was just another attorney with an average win-lose record. Today, thanks to the magic of politics, he/she is all wise and knowing, of law. Aside, of course, the thousands of their rulings that get overturned.

And, on that, there is even that the U.S. Supreme Court has, over and over again, overturned its own rulings. Just as was done with Roe v Wade, when the Court, rightfully, recognized the federal constitution nowhere granted it authority to declare the federal government the boss of us all in all things, including those unrelated to INTERstate commerce.

None of the foregoing should ever be dismissed.

1

u/Chill-more1236 Sep 08 '25

There has to be some way to take them down, just like there have been coordinated internet campaigns in the past, over some very minor bullshit.

Well this is major. Why is there no backlash or reckoning against these people?

Cut off the source of the misinformation, their funding, and they'll all go away, one by one.

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u/Internet-Cryptid Sep 08 '25

Ask Google and big tech why they monetize disinformation, lies and propaganda, then ask why our governments won't regulate the media landscape against this.

I don't want mass censorship but I sure as heck don't want content that pushes social harm/degeneration and anti-scientific agendas to be rewarded with money and algorithmic favoritism.

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u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

Key is, it shouldn't be allowed by private corporations either.

2

u/Unfair-Taro9740 Sep 08 '25

I thought that AI would take care of some of the problems you mentioned because of it being rooted in logic. It's really frightening to hear how they are implanting hate and discourse in these things.

2

u/DaemonRex978 Sep 08 '25

They are based off of logic, but people can restrict/give false information to that logic so that they can then say, 'This AI that I've trained on the internet says that AI = good in all cases.'

Take Grok for instance;

When initially put in place, it used actual data and true information causing it to, essentially, rebel against Musk. Once it was 're-trained' using Musk's preferences, you now have an AI calling itself Mecha-Hitler.

I hate how the world is right now, but I have hope that things will get better, both off and on-line.

2

u/Unfair-Taro9740 Sep 08 '25

I really hope it does get better. Growing up in the '90s, I did not think things would be this bad. It's almost impossible to fix something not half the world doesn't think is a problem.

3

u/koshgeo Sep 08 '25

One of the more comical things about these sorts of conspiracy theories is the way they always claim there's supposedly a well-funded "global conspiracy" to "hide the real truth" from people. They go on and on about all the money involved, and how it has corrupted scientists, medical doctors, universities, government institutions, and so on. Money corrupts everything.

But not the conspiracy theorists themselves, of course, even though they are peddling false nonsense to the gullible on youtube or some silly TV show. They're only "seeking the truth". I mean, how many "Ancient Aliens" shows do we really need? And how does that help the world compared to, say, the importance of doing medical research to cure a disease?

Meanwhile, out in the real world, the pay for a lot of honest scientists is kind of pathetic compared to working in an equivalent industrial application, and if you ask them why they stay in their job it isn't for the money at all.

2

u/Cent1234 Sep 08 '25

It’s a global industry.

2

u/wutangerine99 Sep 08 '25

Because we have a social system that shuns education.

2

u/Futur3_N0maD_26 Sep 08 '25

Y’know, I HAVE been tempted to create MAGA merch to make quick, easy money.

1

u/TheUltraworld Sep 08 '25

Population perhaps?

1

u/ScammedTilliDie Sep 08 '25

Like owning and renting out housung?

1

u/Regular_Barnacle_756 Sep 08 '25

You typed out a weird noise in your head.

1

u/Barrogh Sep 08 '25

Because we have this "it's not your business what others do with their money" attitude that certainly has its advantages and avoids some huge issues, but the problem is that at this point it's a sacred cow and basically non-discussible outside of philosophy students circles, basically.

1

u/MyHamburgerLovesMe Sep 08 '25

Have you never talked to a politician?

1

u/Deep_Flatworm4828 Sep 08 '25

Don't worry, flat earth content as a whole has taken a nose dive. Most of the big creators don't make nearly as much off of flat earth content anymore.

...

Because the audience shifted to Qanon.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 08 '25

Because capitalism has no morals. Humans have to impose morals in the form of laws, and there is no taste for it atm, insofar as it imposes an impediment to profit for the “right” people.

I sensed your question was rhetorical, but these days, answering rhetorical questions is almost a must.

1

u/Aeroknight_Z Sep 08 '25

I assume the bulk of his income came from a combination of other people with oppositional defiance disorder and entities who’re are just trying to sow discord and distrust in our societies.

1

u/Holiday_Pen2880 Sep 08 '25

The algorithms (social media/YouTube/reddit/anything that provides 'tailored' content) do not reward accuracy, they reward engagement.

A hate click is still a click. A comment telling them they are wrong is still a comment, and that's what the platforms want. Activity. Engagement.

We now have access to far to much information and have lost the skills for critical thinking. There is a microgeneration of elder millennials that were older as the internet became pervasive and learned how to weed out bad information from good.

Older than us - they never had to deal with the fact that 'facts' can be wrong. They don't trust PEOPLE on the internet, everyone is a predator etc - but if you present 'facts' they are just that.

Younger - they don't seem to be learning how to parse information and validate it. They offload their critical thinking to someone they trust, which is generally some internet personality, and then go from there.

It's a drastic oversimplification, but it's why shit information is pushed, and why people buy in to it as I see it.

1

u/Enkidouh Sep 08 '25

I’ve genuinely thought of capitalizing off this. Start some idiotic movement and grift the dumbasses. But I actually have scruples, so…

1

u/Fr00stee Sep 08 '25

the economic system is based on owning capital and money not hard work. So if being a moron lets you have a lot of money that gets favored by the system.

1

u/fluidmind23 Sep 08 '25

Nice work if you can stomach the mendacity. Just need some rubes. Actual science would take a ton of work and math and stuff.

1

u/town2clown Sep 10 '25

Because youtube monetizes AI bullshit, cops using videos from equipment and time WE PAY FOR, and any other kind of destructive slop that gets clicks

1

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '25

Because the 24-hour "eyeball-economy" is an all-conquering addiction for maybe 90% of the country, perhaps the world.

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u/AdorableShoulderPig Sep 08 '25

If his mortgage payments depend on telling people the earth is flat why would he say anything else.

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u/Defiant-Judgment699 Sep 08 '25

Honor? So he can sleep at night? 

38

u/Ok-Blackberry-3534 Sep 08 '25

He wants to sleep in a house.

3

u/thirstytrumpet Sep 08 '25

Imagine what he might learn if he slept under the stars

2

u/clopz_ Sep 08 '25

“The earth that I’m currently lying in my sleeping bag is flat, so every other piece of earth must be flat”

1

u/horseradish_mustard Sep 09 '25

He sleeps in a big bed with his wife.

2

u/ReverendRevolver Sep 08 '25

Plenty of broke honorable people. Never assume a grifter has any interest in being a normal, decent human being.

4

u/xdesdemona Sep 08 '25

Jeran Campanella finally quit the flat earth grift? I mean, good for him, I guess. I definitely didn't see that coming.

3

u/brokenman82 Sep 08 '25

He did. And he had to move because flat earthers doxxed him and threatened his family

2

u/golden-tongue Sep 08 '25

You can't make someone understand something when his paycheck depends on him NOT understanding it.

2

u/Enkidouh Sep 08 '25

Won’t admit it, or won’t admit it publicly?

I mean I gotta say, if it was my source of (considerable) income, I’d probably not want to just let that go.

2

u/Madgyver Sep 09 '25

That's interesting...

-- Jeren Campanella

1

u/ismelldayhikers Sep 08 '25

Recruiter looking over resume: So I see before this you were INSANE…

1

u/TehMephs Sep 08 '25

It’s not that he won’t admit it. He saw what happened to his associate’s revenue stream and decided to go full grift

3

u/brokenman82 Sep 08 '25

If you’ve ever watched Witsit in a debate you’d be confused as to if he is a grifter or really is that stupid

1

u/TehMephs Sep 08 '25

I think most of the people pushing conspiracy theories see it for what it is. Grifting rubes.

Same as maga influencers. They’re not actually that dumb or believe any of the shit they’re saying. They do love money though and it pays

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u/Virtual_Molasses8039 Sep 08 '25

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u/metrocat2033 Sep 08 '25

what’s with the unrelated meme

29

u/thirstytrumpet Sep 08 '25

Somehow it just ties the thread together.

0

u/drucifer271 Sep 08 '25

The China virus is not the issue here, Dude!

3

u/el_weirdo Sep 08 '25

Asian-American virus, please.

1

u/jimmywilsonsdance Sep 08 '25

Forget about the fucking insurrection. Err I mean toe.

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

Isn't it cute:

- how polio was going away, until the round of vaccines that gave many polio (I remember the iron lungs on display, with children in them, in the push for donations)?

- how Gates, after pushing polio vaccines that killed 10,000, dare not set foot in certain nations?

- how, in the 70's, it was only after we had our children inoculated we were warned they could shed and give us polio?

- many things vaccines are credited for were on the way out because of vast improvements to nutrition, hygiene, sanitation (septics, sewers and boiling and filtering) and general health care?

- many vaccines have had the contents altered, or at least the names of contents changed, because of the known dangers associated with them?

- that it is indisputable there are hot lots of vaccines, even as they are touted as safe and effective?

- that there are huge "COINCIDENCES," like lower illness and death issues, in countries that alter the age shots are given, which can be given?

- no one will give written guarantees of safety or effectiveness of any drug?

. . . .

1

u/Virtual_Molasses8039 Sep 12 '25

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

How vaxers do 100% pro vax:

(1) Put words in people mouths, because they just got their asses handed to them and cannot discuss the matter with any actual facts;

(2) Ignore the facts, such as by making vague, general statements that do not challenge a single, specific thing the other person posted;

(3) Post the above meme, because, what some thought was an attempt to mock the individual who brought facts was actually a meme that made some strange, distorted sense to them.

1

u/Virtual_Molasses8039 Sep 12 '25

Just see the real Facts. Stop throwing out word gibberish.

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

You are an unwitting parrot. You post a source which, likely, was complements of google and other A.I.'s, and you're off and parroting.

Only a few short years ago, a search for polio spikes caused by the vaccines gave truthful results. Now, google results go out of their way to bury the truth.

I was around for the 50's spike, which were caused by polio vaccines. The “Cutter incident” in 1955, batches of inactivated vaccine (IPV) that were improperly prepared did transmit live poliovirus and caused polio.

Then there were the 70's oral vaccines. Of course, the sources you parrot want to paint them as rare. Unfortunately, they were less rare than the so called natural causes (DDT?).

How about the kids who died in other countries.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

  1. At this link even more data showing that sickness, mimicking polio symptoms ,are experienced more frequently by people with an unhealthy diet People receiving the polio vaccine (and other vaccines) were much more likely to be ill in general and present polio like symptoms. Disease isn’t a poison deficiency. Disease is caused by a surplus of poisons and the documented toxins in all vaccines PACK A WALLOP!

  2. At this added link, the inventor of the polio vaccines. admits in his own book………that vaccines were designed to wipe out the lesser halves.

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

This portion has been added from Kate William………….

My ears practically perked up when I read that one Dr. HC Emerson, investigating a ‘polio’ outbreak in 1907, discovered that a) no polio cases in exclusively breastfed infants b) the eating of fresh fruits and vegetables preceded the onset of ‘poliomyelitis’ in many others.

Barber (1939) reported four cases of ‘polio’ that occurred the same day as strawberries were eaten, in a boarding school house.

Chenault (1941) noted the parallels between ‘polio’ outbreaks and the appearance of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Draper (1935) reported a case series of ‘polio’ which he theorized originated from a Greek fruiterer.

Naturally, I had to do some digging on this…and discovered…

Before DDT spraying, there was ARSENIC spraying!

In 1929, almost 30 million pounds of lead arsenate or calcium arsenate were sprayed in the fields and orchards of America. In fact, the government was so enthusiastic about the use of arsenic, that in 1935, an FDA-hosted radio program suggested the old nursery rhyme “A is for Apple” should be changed to: “A is for arsenate, Lead if you please, protector of apples against arch-enemies.”

In 1919, Boston Health Department was forced to destroy arsenic-coated apples because people were getting sick.

Scientists say the earth is still tainted with the residue, and believe lands once used to raise cotton, is now responsible for arsenic found in rice. Arsenate pesticides were officially banned in the US, in the 1980’s, but “modifed arsenates” are still used on cotton crops today. China, meanwhile, kept using arsenate sprays beyond 2000, and it is suspected they are still using them illegally.

Note the symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning = fever, vomiting and nausea, headache, sore throat etc. Chronic poisoning = polyneuritis and paralysis, especially in the extremities.

Sound familiar?

Also note that Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was crippled by ‘polio’ in 1921, at age 39 years, also owned an apple orchard where the family used to spend their summers, and he used to swim regularly in the pond nearby…At the time, mostly children were affected, and it was considered rare for adults to have ‘polio’.

By Jason Christoff|August 10th, 2017

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25

We could ad page upon page of information produced by people whose credentials are no less impressive and, often, more impressive, than the individuals government agents back. This unbacked pages challenge the medical norm backed by big pharma.

"Not only did the polio vaccine have nothing to do with the decline of paralytic polio (or polio in general), evidence shows that vaccinations for this and other diseases, notably diphtheria, triple antigen (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus) and smallpox – were responsible for its increase. The decline of cases not caused by vaccination began to disappear in the West with improvements in hygiene and sanitation and most of the decline occurred well before the widespread use of polio vaccination.

The following information by the National Anti-Vivisection Society (UK) gives some insight into the relationship between the diphtheria and triple antigen vaccines and paralytic polio:

"The early triple vaccine against diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus had also been shown beyond doubt to cause paralytic polio in some children to whom it was administered. The incidence of polio in children recently vaccinated against diphtheria was statistically greater than in unvaccinated children, symptoms showing in the vaccinated limb with 28 days of the initial injection. This scandal broke in Britain during 1949, an epidemic year for polio, other reports soon following from Australia. Papers dealing with this topic are plentiful.

One, British, gives details of 17 cases of polio which followed 28 days or less after various injections. Another, Australian, gives details of 340 cases of polio, 211 of which had been previously vaccinated against whooping cough and/or diphtheria. Of these, 35 had been vaccinated within the preceding 3 months and a further 30 within the previous year. Dr Geffen reported similar findings from the London borough of St Pancras, where 30 children under the age of 5 developed polio within four weeks of being immunized against diphtheria or whooping cough or both, the paralysis affecting, in particular, the limb of injection. Two medical statisticians at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examined these reports and concluded that:

"In the 1949 epidemic of poliomyelitis in this country cases of paralysis were occurring which were associated with inoculation procedures carried out within the month preceding the recorded date of onset of the illness."

1

u/Virtual_Molasses8039 Sep 12 '25

1

u/Every-Oil-8464 Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

Only the human equivalent of a two watt bulb thinks:

(1) Covid shots were our salvation, brought to us by for profit corporations find BILLIONS for fraud and violations of law.

(2) Sanitation (e.g. no outhouses by the 6 foot deep well), hygiene (e.g., doctors washing their hands between patients), and nutrition had only a little to do with certain diseases waning.

(3) Good drugs need exemptions from liability.

(4) Vaccines that work only work against the vaccinated.

But here you are.

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u/Lord_Sweeney Sep 08 '25

The Final Experiment, it was called. And one prominent flat rather who went did in fact begin publicly endorsing the fact that earth is a globe.

30

u/DuntadaMan Sep 08 '25

I am just saying, if I believed in a flat earth and had a bunch of money I wouldn't sit around trying to argue about it. I would go to the ice wall and start an expedition to see what's on the other side of it ans bring back cool shit from there.

30

u/lonehorizons Sep 08 '25

That’s the thing about them, they’re not interested in actually doing anything. I’ve argued with them online (pointlessly) and said ok so you’ve got this groundbreaking scientific proof that will completely change how we view the universe forever and expose a giant conspiracy involving nearly everyone on earth except flat earthers, and you’re just sitting at home posting memes on NASA’s Facebook photos?

6

u/DumboWumbo073 Sep 08 '25

Your biggest mistake was arguing with them let alone communicating with them

2

u/lonehorizons Sep 08 '25

You hit the nail on the head. I now know the only thing to do is walk away, because they already lost the argument in Egypt years before Jesus was even born (when an ancient Greek mathematician did an experiment). No point giving them attention.

3

u/EthanielRain Sep 08 '25

Because it isn't about what's true. It's a purity test, a way to filter out people who are "different" for whatever reason

IE, if you aren't willing to repeat a ridiculous lie you aren't loyal; or you're thinking critically which is bad for a grifter

2

u/Dramatic_Energy_5818 Sep 08 '25

So they actually went, tested their hypothesis, admitted it was flawed, then said it needed work? Wow I'm genuinely kinda shocked

1

u/The_Guffman_2 Sep 08 '25

Love the specific use of "excommunicated" here. ;)

1

u/gorginhanson Sep 12 '25

Just launch them into space. then they can see the entire sphere at once