Weight, what? Will South Africans lose gravity for seven seconds next Wednesday?
news24.com
A viral claim says Earth loses gravity for seven seconds on 12 August — but what makes millions share a physics impossibility as if it were a calendar event?
Viral MisinformationSocial ProofPseudoscienceDunning-Kruger Effect
Theory Briefing
- A social media theory promises seven seconds of zero gravity on 12 August, urging people to jump to float in the air.
- The claim spreads annually in new forms, showing how a vivid, specific detail — a date, a countdown — makes false ideas feel credible.
- Gravity is a product of Earth's mass, not a force that switches off, making the scenario physically impossible by definition.
- South African outlets are fact-checking the claim, reflecting how viral physics myths cross borders faster than corrections do.