Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

1. Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

2. Conspiracy Theories • Fenster discussion pp1-2 • Two propositions about conspiracy theories • Margins (believed only by extremists, about secret cabals) • Centre (believed [“believed”] by almost everyone, about almost anything) • Argue that CTs are integral to modern life • Example of Da Vinci Code; examine Moon Landing.

3. History of the theories • 1969 Some sceptical opinions were voiced at the time • 1974 Bill Kaysing, We Never Went to the Moon • 1978 Capricorn One movie (Mars) • 1992 Ralph Rene, NASA Mooned America • 1997 James Collier Was it Only a Paper Moon? • 1999 David Percy Dark Moon (and in Fortean Times) • 2000+ Marcus Allen in Nexus magazine • 2001 Bart Sibrel, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon (DVD) • 2001 Fox TV special Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? • And, of course, the web… (3.8m hits on 10/09)

4. How many disbelieve? • 1970 Knight poll found 30% Americans were suspicious • 1999 Gallup poll found 6% doubtful, 5% don’t know • 2001 Fox TV claimed 20% disbelieved • 2002 Popularity from MSNBC News report • 2006 Ditmar poll found 26% of 18-26 yr old college educated Americans were doubtful & 10% rated it highly unlikely that Americans landed on the moon. Not what we might expect

5. Details and Evidence • Scenarios: • Complete hoax, partial hoax, failed technology, impossible • Motives: • Cold War prestige or distraction, JFK’s promise • Evidence: • Photographs are the most popular evidence • See Mythbusters photo test • High quality imagesAldrin 1 Aldrin 2Aldrin 3 • 1/6 gravity: • wires vs Mythbusters moonwalk test • The web gives multiple expert vs expert

6. Reasons for such belief? • Part of the general decline of trust in authority since 1990s (not just in government, also science – other examples?) As such is actually also a theory about the present • Reveals our era has profound doubts about technology (global warming?) • Probably also a result of the achievement itself (could we repeat it today?) • Is retro-active (has grown recently, looks backwards, “re-maps” history) • All that makes it more likely to come from young, educated and sceptical people

7. Rebuttals • At first few, as the theory was not considered worth dignifying with a reply • NASA’s attitude was one of dismissal • 2002 cancelled book by James Oberg • Has been left to websites such as Bad Astronomy andand Clavius • 2006 Discovery Channel produced Moon Hoax Challenged • 2007 moonwalker Charlie Duke In the Shadow of the Moon coda said: • "We've been to the Moon nine times. Why would we fake it nine times, if we faked it?" • 2008 Mythbustersspecial – meaning?

8. Wider and wider • Now part of the general mass of conspiracy theories about US government • And bigger theories about space such as Richard Hoagland and Dark Mission • Subject of Spoofs The Onion and the result • Complexity - hoaxed hoaxes. See Fact or Fake about Stanley Kubrick

9. Final Answers? • Final answers? • NASA’s return to the Moon in 2020 (if the Chinese aren’t first), more than 50 years later • The relics still on the lunar surface • New images of the landers • But does that really close the book?

10. Conclusions • What does the popularity of this conspiracy theory tell us? • About the actual subject (the moon landing) • About wider concerns (about technology, national self-confidence, achievement?) • About how evidence, belief and imagination work in CTs? • About how these relate not to the 1960s but to the 2000s?