Purported NASA warning about 'world being plunged into darkness' is old hoax

This article is more than one year old.
Published on December 26, 2022 at 10:18
2 min read
By AFP Sri Lanka

An old hoax has recirculated in Sri Lanka that NASA warned the world would be plunged into almost total darkness for at least six days in December 2022 following a solar storm. NASA told AFP the claim -- which has circulated online since at least 2012 -- is fabricated.

The false claim was shared in this Facebook post published on December 13, 2022.

The Sinhala-language text overlaid on the post graphic translates to English as: "The world in darkness for six days/ NASA has said the world will be in complete darkness from December 16 - 22 due to dust and space debris caused by a solar storm, that will cut off 90% of the sunlight.

"NASA Chief Charles Bolden added this will be the largest solar storm to occur in 250 years but added there will be no other impact to Earth except for the darkness and therefore not to fear or panic over this.”

Screenshot of the Facebook post captured on December 19, 2022.

However, the dates cited in the post passed without any such global blackout occurring.

The post also incorrectly claimed the warning was issued by NASA chief Charles Bolden, who served as head of the US space agency from 2009 to 2017.

Bill Nelson has been NASA chief since May 2021 and has issued no such warning about a global blackout.

An identical graphic and a similar claim were shared in multiple posts, including here and here.

NASA told AFP the posts were an old hoax that had recirculated.

In response to the query on December 22, NASA spokesperson Stephanie Schierholz said: "A similar viral hoax story has circulated off and on during the last decade and NASA has not issued any statement or warning with that false claim."

Schierholz went on to say that the fictitious window cited in the claim had already passed without a solar storm or global blackout.

"It shows what a continuing hoax this story is," she said.

NASA previously dismissed a similar false claim after it circulated in 2012.

A search on NASA's website found no new announcement regarding a solar storm published in its press releases in 2022.

A keyword search of the claim on Google found it had previously been debunked in this report by USA Today on December 18, 2020. The report is headlined: "Fact check: NASA warning of six days of darkness is a hoax."

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