Flat Earth Publications
Ever since its conception, journalism has been used as a way of speaking truth to power. However, the truth for some people is completely inaccurate for others. Ideas concerning the shape of the planet have been debated for centuries. With the advent of mass media, prominent voices were now able to spread information on both sides of the Flat Earth debate.
Before Flat Earthers could take advantage of newspapers to spread their beliefs, journalists had already started using newspapers as a way to shine a light on their bizarre ideas.
For most Flat Earthers, religious doctrine is the only evidence they need.
Before Flat Earthers could take advantage of newspapers to spread their beliefs, journalists had already started using newspapers as a way to shine a light on their bizarre ideas.
An article published in The New York Journal on January 31 of 1897 tells of the beliefs of prominent Flat Earthers of that time. Other than describing their beliefs as "strange" and "unique," the article does a fairly decent job reporting the extent Flat Earthers have gone gathering information to support their ideas. One of the people mentioned is Alexander Gleason, the author of the 1890 book Is The Earth a Globe. The article ends by commenting on the religious nature of flat Earth doctrine.
For most Flat Earthers, religious doctrine is the only evidence they need.
An article published in The Australian Women's Weekly on November 16 of 1935 by G.W. Warnecke reports on a "strange" town they visited during a trip around America. During this trip, they stopped at a small town 40 miles outside of Chicago called Zion. Founded in 1901 by John Alexander "Elijah" Dowie, Zion is a town based entirely on the Bible and Flat Earth doctrine. According to the author, Dowie gained notoriety in Australia before moving to America. Dowie, having established the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, established himself as the Chief Overseer and reverend of his church. As mentioned in the article, one of the most notable people people to come from Zion is Wilbur Glenn Voliva. Voliva is credited with persuading over 500 Australians to migrate to this new city of God.
Voliva is also responsible for creating the $5,000 Challenge to prove that the Earth is not a globe. An article published in Modern Mechanics and Inventions by Jay Earle Miller in 1931 details Wilbur Voliva's proposition for $5,000 to anybody that "can prove that the world is a sphere, floating in space, turning on its own axis, revolving around the sun."
The article itself does a wonderful job elaborating on the views of Gleason, Voliva and Dowie, as well as the teachings of Zetetic Astronomy in places like Zion. There seems to be nothing that's obviously patronizing, as they present all of their proofs at face value with very little bias. Jay Earle Miller ends the article by acknowledging the prize "probably will remain uncollected unless some future space traveler some day anchors his ship a few thousand miles out in space and takes a movie of a globular world turning on its axis."
Unfortunately for Jay, modern movies of our Earth rotating are still not enough evidence for Flat Earthers. Despite the achievements of NASA and other space agencies, Flat Earthers write it all off as government conspiracies.
The International Flat Earth Research Society was founded in 1956 by Samuel Shenton. After Shenton passed away in 1971, leadership in the organization eventually was taken over by Charles K. Johnson. In 1972, Johnson began publishing his own four-page quarterly tabloid simply named Flat Earth News. Having their own organization with the means to print and spread their information, Flat Earthers could now flip the script and decry the 'lies' being fed to people from the mainstream. In the 1976 edition published on July 4, Johnson is quoted as saying that the "moon shots" and "space cake walks" were entirely fictional, as well as the photos of space, Earth, the moon and its rover. Johnson claimed to personally know a man that "wrote, directed and narrated the first moon landing." The newsletter embraced the religious aspects of a flat Earth, since it stands as the most significant proof for most Flat Earthers. By 1991, the tabloid was shortened to 2 pages. By 1994, publications ended outright.
Beyond the twenty-year span of quarterlies published by The International Flat Earth Research Society, there are no prominent newspapers, literature or publications that focus on defending a flat Earth. Although Flat Earthers are still around, mainstream media only focuses its time highlighting when celebrities publicly state their beliefs in a flat Earth.
Sources
The article itself does a wonderful job elaborating on the views of Gleason, Voliva and Dowie, as well as the teachings of Zetetic Astronomy in places like Zion. There seems to be nothing that's obviously patronizing, as they present all of their proofs at face value with very little bias. Jay Earle Miller ends the article by acknowledging the prize "probably will remain uncollected unless some future space traveler some day anchors his ship a few thousand miles out in space and takes a movie of a globular world turning on its axis."
Unfortunately for Jay, modern movies of our Earth rotating are still not enough evidence for Flat Earthers. Despite the achievements of NASA and other space agencies, Flat Earthers write it all off as government conspiracies.
Beyond the twenty-year span of quarterlies published by The International Flat Earth Research Society, there are no prominent newspapers, literature or publications that focus on defending a flat Earth. Although Flat Earthers are still around, mainstream media only focuses its time highlighting when celebrities publicly state their beliefs in a flat Earth.
Sources
"The
Earth Is Flat." The New York Journal 31 Jan. 1897: 1. Print.
Warnecke,
G.W. "STRANGE Australian Town in the Heart of America!" The
Australian Women’s Weekly 16 Nov. 1935: 1. Print.
Miller,
Jay Earle. “$5,000 for Proving the Earth a Globe.” Modern Mechanics and Inventions Oct. 1931: 9. Print.
Johnson,
Charles K. “EARTH PROVED FLAT.” Flat
Earth News 4 Jul. 1976: 4. Print.
Johnson,
Charles K. “EARTH IS FLAT No Moon Pictures of Earth Exist.” Flat Earth News 1 Sep. 1993: 2. Print.