Flat Earthers as a growing belief

Why do some people believe the Earth is flat?

Excerpt: 

"Distrusting the experts

So why, despite overwhelming scientific evidence that the Earth is an "oblate spheroid" – a sphere that's squashed at its poles and swollen at the equator – is the flat-Earth movement gaining traction in the 21st century?

Well, in part, according to School of Culture and Communication lecturer Dr. Jennifer Beckett, it's due to a general shift towards populism and a distrust in the views of experts and the mainstream media.

"It's really about the power of knowledge, and that increasing distrust in what we once considered to be the gatekeepers of knowledge – like academics, scientific agencies, or the government," Dr. Beckett says.

In this kind of environment, "it becomes really easy for once-fringe views to gain traction. You get a bunch of people around you who are constantly reaffirming your belief."

Dr. Beckett also notes that the burgeoning movement speaks to how so-called social media "influencers" can now hold more sway than an expert in the field.

"That's often because they tend to be better storytellers," Dr. Beckett says.

"And there's an element of authenticity there – people naively think, 'Oh, they're a real person, so it must be true'."