Fact Check: Earth is not flat or surrounded by an ice wall
An ice wall does not surround Earth, which is spherical, not flat, contrary to a conspiracy theory video viewed widely online.
The video, posted on Facebook and TikTok, shows footage of a wall of ice and a graphic of Earth, portrayed as flat, with Union Jack flags positioned along its circumference.
A voiceover in the clip says: “If Antarctica's wall is 60,000 miles in circumference making the equator nearly 25,000 miles, the wall is at least 200-foot above and below sea level all the way around minus a few cracks and gaps leading to extra lands.
“This is where military is most heavily present with Navy warships patrolling the 60th parallel 24/7, 365 days a year.”
However, Antarctica encompasses only part of Earth’s land mass. It is one of seven continents and does not surround the other six, as depicted in the graphic.
Satellite imagery from NASA, the UK’s environmental research agency Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and other independent sources shows that Antarctica does not encircle the Earth entirely.
Antarctica is approximately 5.5 million square miles in size, Earth’s fifth largest continent, according to the Britannica encyclopedia.
The clip of the purported ice wall has been published before, on YouTube in 2018, with the title: “The Edge Of The FLAT EARTH (Wall Of Antarctica)”.
The location is not named in the older video or the newer posts, but it appears visually similar to the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest floating mass of land-ice.
The wall of the Ross Ice Shelf’s front is 160 to 200 feet tall in parts and 500 miles long according to Britannica. But the majority of the floating ice is below the water surface, according to Antarctic voyage company Oceanwide Expeditions.
European Space Agency and NASA satellite imagery show the Earth is not flat.
A livestream from the International Space Station also shows Earth’s spherical shape.
The Royal Navy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
According to the Royal Navy website and British Antarctic Survey, part of the NERC, the Royal Navy patrols British Antarctic Territory, the UK’s territorial claim to part of the continent, 330 days a year with ice patrol vessel HMS Protector.
Reuters has previously addressed false posts claiming the Earth is flat and that Earth is covered by a dome.
VERDICT
False. Antarctica is not an ice wall that surrounds a flat Earth but one of seven continents on the spherical planet, as seen in satellite images.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
