Over the last decade, the much-maligned 'flat Earth' conspiracy theory has slowly been gaining in popularity and struggling to adjust to its unexpected revival.
Seemingly long forgotten until recently, the flat earth theory, as one might surmise, argues that the Earth is really flat and there has been an epic and ongoing conspiracy to convince you otherwise.
Unfortunately for flat Earth adherents, the conspiracy appears to have worked masterfully and the theory has been relegated to the periphery of the paranormal while being widely ridiculed by society.
But the saga of the odd idea began a new chapter in 2004 with the reestablishment of the infamous Flat Earth Society, which began accepting new members five years later.
As the community grew, divisions over details of the flat earth theory erupted and spawned competing concepts surrounding the nature of the conspiracy, leading to war within the world of the Flat earthers.
Proponents of specific theories take to YouTube and elaborate blogs, explaining their ideas to tens of thousands of followers and doing battle with those who disagree.
"There's dissension in the ranks all over the place," flat earth researcher Mark Sargent told The Guardian, "It's almost like the beginning of a new religion. Everyone's trying to define it. And they're turning on each other because there's no unified theory."
Accusations of government disinformation, psy ops, and betrayal are common themes in the flat Earth field today.
Incredibly, peace deals have even been brokered between camps of competing theorists, but talks fell apart.
If only some diligent researcher could finally prove the Earth is flat, then the war could end. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Coast Insiders can dig into the Flat earth theory with this appearance from Mark Sargent on the 5/21/15 edition of the program.
Source: The Guardian