Upcoming Solar Eclipse in U.S. Sparks Conspiracy Theories Online
An upcoming solar eclipse has sparked a variety of conspiracy theories on social media. According to Newsweek, the total solar eclipse, in which the sky will briefly turn dark for several hours, can be seen in 13 states on April 8. During the eclipse, the moon will block the face of the sun when the moon passes between the sun and the earth.
The cosmic event, however, has caught the eye of known conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who contended in a nearly eight-minute-long video on X, formerly Twitter, that the eclipse is a sign from God. He also claimed that the Department of Security is getting ready to “hijack” the so-called “biblical event.” The clip, which was also posted on Jones’ website, InfoWars, notes that the eclipse will pass over “eight U.S. cities named Nineveh.” As noted by Newseek, however, only 2 of the eight cities are named Nineveh, such as Nivenah, Indiana, and Nineveh, Ohio.
InfoWars also pointed out that the upcoming eclipse has “similarities to the Bur-Sagale eclipse or Assyrian eclipse during the time when Jonah approached Nineveh and urged the Assyrian people to repent.” Meanwhile, users on X have also come up with differing meanings on the eclipse.
“In my opinion, I think April eclipse is the catalyst, yes, for a HUGE earthquake at the New Madrid fault line or intersection of the 3 eclipses,” one X user wrote.
The conspiracy theory in question pertains to a series of earthquakes that took place in the Mississippi Valley along the New Madrid fault line, also known as the New Madrid Seismic Zone, following a solar eclipse in America in 1811. However, no scientific evidence suggests the earthquakes were caused by the solar eclipse. Another conspiracy theory on X was posted by a woman named Sarah, who wrote: “The blue line is the path of totality which happens to be the same as the line of storms that just came through the Midwest?”
Last weekend, several storms and tornadoes struck Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, but there’s no correlation between weather events and a solar eclipse that has yet to occur.
Related article: 5 Important Things Christians Should Understand about Solar Eclipses
Photo credit: Jongsun Lee/Unsplash
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for Christian Headlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
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