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Solar Eclipse Sparks Wild Conspiracy Theories


1 week ago 19
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Social media has become awash with conspiracy theories over the upcoming total solar eclipse that will affect millions of Americans next month.

A total eclipse will be experienced in 13 states on April 8 — a rare astronomical event in which the skies briefly turn dark during daylight hours. Such events take place when the moon passes between the sun and the earth, completely blocking the face of the sun.

But despite the perfectly reasonable scientific explanation for why the eclipse is happening, it hasn't stopped conspiracy theorists from drumming up wild theories about the forthcoming astronomical event.

Known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones posted a nearly eight-minute long video on X, formerly Twitter, which claimed that the eclipse is a sign from God and that the Department of Homeland Security is preparing to "hijack" the so-called "biblical event." It gives no reason for why Homeland Security would do that.

Solar eclipse
A solar eclipse on October 14, 2023, in Boerne, Texas. A total solar eclipse will take place on April 8, 2024, and cross over 13 states. GETTY

According to the clip, which was also posted on his widely discredited website, InfoWars, the eclipse will pass over "eight U.S. cities named Nineveh." However, only two of the eight places named Nineveh in the U.S, namely Nivenah, Indiana, and Nineveh, Ohio, will experience the total solar eclipse on April 8.

InfoWars also claimed the upcoming eclipse has "similarities to the Bur-Sagale eclipse or Assyrian eclipse during the time when Jonah approached Nineveh and urged the Assyrian people to repent." It doesn't offer any further explanation about the connection.

Newsweek contacted InfoWars for comment via email.

X users have also speculated, without evidence, regarding alternative meanings for the solar eclipse. One X user, posting under the name Alex1575, wrote: "In my opinion, I think April eclipse is the catalyst, yes, for a HUGE earthquake at the New Madrid fault line or intersection of the 3 eclipses."

The conspiracy theory relates to a series of earthquakes in the Mississippi Valley along the New Madrid fault line, also known as New Madrid Seismic Zone, that occurred several months after a solar eclipse that crossed America in 1811. There is no scientific evidence to suggest the eclipse caused the earthquakes.

Other theories that engage in a wholesale rejection of science have also gained traction online. Another X user, posting under the name Sarah, wrote: "The blue line is the path of totality which happens to be the same as the line of storms that just came through the Midwest?"

The post appears to refer to the recent storms and tornados that struck Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky over the weekend. While it is known that eclipses can sometimes result in temporary and minor changes in the wind and temperature, these only occur during the event and aren't related to weather events in the months before a solar eclipse.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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