Why does nobody talk about how the moon landing skepticism shifted from real conspiracy to just a meme around 2015?

I remember when my uncle first showed me a grainy VHS tape in 2008 about faked moon footage and everyone argued details, but now whenever I bring it up online people just post that one astronaut smashing a guitar meme and call it a day, so did social media kill actual debate or just dumb it down?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_martin2821d ago

2008 was right around when the first iPhone came out and YouTube was shifting from grainy horror to flat earth videos. That specific year, the conspiracy crowd was still small and intense, but once Facebook and Twitter blew up around 2011, the same jokes and memes started getting shared faster than any actual research. I remember seeing one stat about how moon landing content went from 70% discussion of evidence in 2012 to 90% memes by 2015 on reddit alone. The debate didn't die, it just got swallowed by the algorithm that rewards quick laughs over long arguments. So yeah, social media basically took a weird niche obsession and turned it into a punchline people throw around without thinking.

lindaw2921d ago

My buddy Dave was deep in moon landing debates until he got an iPhone.