'No one ever changed their mind by being shouted at' - Alex Moneypenny on why conspiracists need empathy
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Researching his Fringe show about Flat Earthers, playwright Alex Moneypenny discovered the need to believe was really about something deeper
Humans are weird. We feel like crying on random Tuesday afternoons. We smell. We stumble over our words and think horrible thoughts we'd never tell a soul. We know all this, so perhaps it shouldn't have come as such a shock to read that, in a 2018 YouGov survey, only 66% of US millennials said they firmly believe the Earth is round, with some sources suggesting the number of doubters is growing.
It's easy to shrug that off with a self-satisfied smile, or mutter something about screen time. The idea has been debunked so many times – from the ancient Greeks and 9th-century Muslim scholars to our modern-day space agencies – that such a response feels valid. But that something so archaic, so obviously disprovable, is resurfacing in our age of information overload feels strange. Almost incongruous. So what's going on?
Modern Flat Earth ideology traces back to the 19th-century pseudoscientific experiments of one Samuel Rowbotham – otherwise known as “Parallax”, yes, really – who published his findings in an 1849 pamphlet titled ‘Zetetic Astronomy’. Today's Flat Earthers, though, credit a more modern pamphlet for their conversion: YouTube, Reddit et al, where they gather to share stories and swap data.
Our show tells the story of Sharon Hargreaves, a 40-something Flat Earth convert out to prove the shape of the Earth once and for all… just as soon as she's seen Adele play Vegas. For all its serious themes, it's hell-bent on entertaining you and making you laugh.
Whilst Sharon's story is fictitious, the show is based on real people. My co-writer Adam's mother-in-law holds a genuine and long-standing belief that man never landed on the Moon, after years of getting her news from spurious online sources. It would be easy to be glib, but empathy is key to answering the question of ‘why’. This isn't about scoffing at every so-called conspiracy theory, many are ultimately harmless. And more to the point: some of history's greatest thinkers were laughed at before turning out to be right. So, perhaps there's no smoke without fire; it's just a question of who lit it, and whether – as Flat Earthers would have it – NASA is hiding the flames.
We wanted a show that doesn't skim the surface or mock those in a conspiracy community, but untangles a simple question: how does an ordinary, relatable person become a Flat Earth believer, and what conditions in their life lead them there?
What emerged from our research were certain patterns. Across hours of interviews with real Flat Earthers, we kept hearing remarkably similar stories. Many described arriving at these beliefs during periods of upheaval or isolation: bereavement, relationship breakdowns or lives that suddenly felt unstable somehow. Behind the arguments themselves, the emotion on display made us wonder whether the need to believe was really about something deeper.
One example that stayed with us was Patricia Steere. One of the movement's best-known interviewers, she launched her Flat Earth YouTube channel after relocating to Houston following the death of her mother. Her story mirrored many of the interviewees' - whilst specific circumstances varied, she further showed that these beliefs rarely appear in a vacuum, often emerging alongside a search for certainty or community.
Our hypothesis? That people, be they doubters or believers, are all just humans in need of connection. Grief, loneliness and depression disconnect us, and a cocktail of YouTube, uncommon internet usage and perhaps an innate desire to be on the outside of things gets rationalised into what is, as far as I know, a false belief.
While we were writing, someone (sort of) recreated the plot of our show: YouTuber Will Duffy flew 48 Flat Earth content creators to Antarctica to witness the midnight sun, a natural phenomenon that contradicts most Flat Earth beliefs. But being shown the very thing that should have undone them deterred no one, it simply bred more in-fighting. When you're that desperate to believe, even the evidence against you becomes something to gather around.
What these communities offer is bigger than a theory - it's somewhere to belong. Somewhere to log on and be greeted by name, taken seriously, told you're one of the few who can see things clearly. After watching interview after interview, you stop seeing gullible people and start seeing people searching for certainty, identity and connection. If that's what's happening, those individuals deserve empathy and kind challenge, not derision. No one ever changed their mind by being shouted at.
The hope is that the show inspires pause to ask why – to recognise that, had I lived that person's life, I might have ended up in a similar place. To sit with Sharon long enough that her choices stop looking ridiculous and start looking human. Because if you can understand how someone gets there, you're far better placed to help them find their way back. Given religion's link to Flat Earth, perhaps it's apt to end with the 16th-century Protestant preacher John Bradford: “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”
I wonder. Was he a doubter, or believer?
The Shocking Truth About Flat Earth, Pleasance Dome, 2.05pm, until 30 August
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