Truth behind mad claim that Earth will ‘lose gravity for seven seconds’ as NASA speaks out

A wild social media conspiracy theory has grown out of control leading to NASA to break their silence on the wild rumour – which theorist believe started due to a leaked NASA document

NASA has debunked a baseless conspiracy theory which has gone wild on social media after it was claimed that 40 million people could lose their lives on a single day due to the Earth’s gravity “turning off”.

According to conspiracy theorists the massive “secret” was uncovered in a NASA document named “Project Anchor” as the allegedly leaked document stated the Earth would lose gravity for seven seconds.

Theorists believed the horror ordeal would be caused by an “intersection of gravitational waves” triggered by colliding black holes. The wacky theory alleges leaked NASA document placed the date of the phenomenon on August 12, at exactly 2.33pm

Social media users have struggled to pin-point the origin of the rumour however one of the earliest known places of references to the wild theory is on Instagram in a post made by @mr_danya_of.

The Instagram user wrote: “On August 12, 2026, the world will lose gravity for seven seconds. NASA knows. They’re preparing but won’t tell us why.” They claimed the cosmic phenomenon would cause “40 million deaths from falls. Infrastructure destruction. Economic Collapse lasting over ten years. Mass panic.”

The social media user added the disruption would be caused by “the intersection of gravitational waves” produced by colliding black holes. Many took to social media to voice their confusion at the alleged global incident, questioning the legitimacy of the rumour and what the potential damages would be if the planet lost its gravity for 7 seconds.

One person asked: “If this is fake, why does it have a date, a project name, and a budget?” A second added: “There’s gonna be a lot of injuries when everyone comes crashing back down then if it was to happen.”

To calm fears NASA has broken their silence on the theory and penned a response. A spokesman for NASA has released a statement to Snopes attempting to end the wild theory, the statement read: “The Earth will not lose gravity on August 12, 2026. Earth’s gravity, or total gravitational force, is determined by its mass.”

“The only way for the Earth to lose gravity would be for the Earth system, the combined mass of its core, mantle, crust, ocean, terrestrial water, and atmosphere, to lose mass.” As the theory spread across social media more people added embellishment to the rumour leading to the conspiracy to grow and evolve over time.

Another user added: “The Earth is expected to see “zero–gravity” condition on August 12, 2026, at 14.33 UTC, when a Total Eclipse of the Sun will pass over the Arctic Ocean.”

Dr William Alston, a black hole expert from the University of Hertfordshire, has explained if the gravitational ripples hitting earth could plausible make the planet lose its gravity.

The expert said: “These ripples are so weak that we have had to build the most sensitive detection equipment to see them – known as the LIGO and Virgo observatories.

“These ripples routinely pass through Earth and ourselves, very subtly squeezing and stretching us; however, this is so small – many times smaller than the size of an atom – that this change goes by completely unnoticed.”

While the Earth’s gravity won’t be “turned off” on August 12 the day will be important for other astronomical reasons as a solar eclipse is due to visit the earth on the day.

The NASA spokesman added: “A total solar eclipse has no unusual impact on Earth’s gravity. The gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on the Earth, which doesn’t impact Earth’s total gravity, but does impact tidal forces, is well understood and is predictable decades in advance.”

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