The Flat Earth conspiracy theory has gained traction in recent years. Photo / Getty Images
The Flat Earth conspiracy theory has gained traction in recent years. Photo / Getty Images
In what might be one of the most unusual cruises of all times, a group of conspiracy theorists who believe the world is flat are planning to travel to Antarctica - to discover the "edge of the world".
According to Forbes, members of the Flat Earth Society have expressed an interest in travelling to the frozen continent to prove "for once and for all" that the earth is not spherical.
The Flat Earth International Conference (FEIC), an annual event not associated with the Flat Earth society, is also planning a cruise for its meeting in 2020.
However, in a statement to the Daily Mail, FEIC founder Robbie Davidson claimed the event will be "just a cruise" and the group has no plans to find the "ice shore" at the end of the world just yet.
Flat Earthers believe that the earth is a disc that is encircled by Antarctica, with the Arctic Circle in the centre of the planet. Some proponents believe the Earth is stationary in space, rather than orbiting the sun.
The theory has gained traction in recent years, particularly on YouTube and social media sites.
Behind the Curve, a documentary on Netflix, looks at the Flat Earth conspiracy theory in detail.
Meanwhile, controversial YouTuber Logan Paul is also releasing a documentary - potentially a 'mockumentary' - titled Flat Earth: to the Edge and Back, which appears to show him succumbing to the theory.
Davidson gave his take on the continent to Forbes: "When we look at Antarctica if you take a globe and you squish it down, the Antarctic would go all the way around the Earth. It's kind of like an ice shore and it's very, very large."
He elaborated further on the concept, stating: "We don't believe anything can fall off the edge, because a big portion of the flat earth community believes that we're in a dome, like a snow globe. So the sun, moon, and stars are all inside."
However, experts have ridiculed these claims and the plans for a cruise - as cruise ships navigate the seas using equipment based on a model of Earth as a sphere.
Henk Keijer, a longtime cruise ship captain, told the Guardian he had sailed 2 million miles, "give or take" and had not encountered a single sea captain who thought the Earth was flat.
Flat Earthers believe Antarctica is an "ice shore" that encircles the Earth. Photo / Getty Images
A recent study from Texas Tech University found that YouTube was a major player in the spread of the Flat Earth conspiracy theory.
Interviewing 30 respondents at a Flat Earth event, all but one cited YouTube as a major factor in their believe of the theories.
Some have called for the streaming service to stop the spread of misinformation - which YouTube has taken on recently.
"We recently announced that we'll begin reducing recommendations of borderline content or videos that could misinform users in harmful ways—such as videos promoting a phony miracle cure for a serious illness, claiming the earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11," a spokesperson for YouTube told MailOnline.
