There are countless conspiracy theories that exist in popular culture. As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a conspiracy theory is “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators.”
One of the most widespread and famous examples of a conspiracy theory is that the moon landing was staged. This theory has been alive for several decades, but it picked up speed again after the rapid advancement of the internet. There are a few reasons why this theory has prevailed throughout the years and continues to be spread amongst newer generations.
“On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon” (History).
One person who doubted this historic American event was a man by the name of Bill Kaysing. Kaysing is largely responsible for the first wave of this conspiracy theory. As described by The Guardian, “It began as ‘a hunch, an intuition’, before turning into ‘a true conviction’ – that the US lacked the technical prowess to make it to the moon (or, at least, to the moon and back). Kaysing had actually contributed to the US space programme, albeit tenuously: between 1956 and 1963, he was an employee of Rocketdyne, a company that helped to design the Saturn V rocket engines. In 1976, he self-published a pamphlet called We Never Went to the Moon: America’s Thirty Billion Dollar Swindle, which sought evidence for his conviction by means of grainy photocopies and ludicrous theories. Yet somehow he established a few perennials that are kept alive to this day in Hollywood movies and Fox News documentaries, Reddit forums and YouTube channels.”
What were some other origins of this theory? History Extra will tell us that “some conspiracy theorists would have it that NASA and the US government faked the whole thing. They were, so the idea goes, spurred by desperation to beat the Soviet Union in the Space Race and fulfil US President John F Kennedy’s promise made in a 1961 speech to land on the Moon ‘before this decade is out’”.
A popular claim of this theory is that legendary film director Stanley Kubrick was responsible for what viewers were witnessing happening on their screens. In fact, there is a video found on YouTube that is titled “Stanley Kubrick Confesses To Faking The Moon Landings [RAW VERSION]“. This video is a parody at best, and misinformation at worst.
Other modern responsible parties for spreading this conspiracy theory are also found on YouTube. Two individuals that share blame for this are Joe Rogan and Shane Dawson, who spread this theory to their millions of listeners and subscribers on their platforms. While Rogan has since changed his stance about the moon landing being a hoax, it still stands that he shared this conspiracy theory with the millions of people who tuned into his show.
Thankfully this conspiracy theory is often looked at as nothing more than a joke by the majority of the public. A study conducted by The University of New Hampshire about conspiracy claims stated that 71% of the people surveyed did not believe that NASA did not land on the moon. 17% fell into the ‘unsure’ category, leaving the minority belief of 12% agreeing that it was a hoax. With people like Rogan changing their stances on their very public platforms, in time these numbers should begin to hopefully change.
The Moon Landing Hoax
