I personally don’t know anyone that claims to be a FE believer. Granted, I don’t talk with legions of people, so the sample pool is relatively small.
The reason I doubt is that it is so easy to disprove. I can go onto Amazon and buy everything I need to send a GoPro into the upper atmosphere and safely recover it for less than $500. There are plenty of YT videos doing just that. If that’s to steep for one person, surely they can come up with two or three friends to split the cost. Hell, I’d even chip in to be part of the experience.
I just searched for the word “flat” in the title since 2020-01-01 then visually scanned the resulting list of 40ish threads. There might be more that somehow left hat key word “falt” from their titles. Or that I missed in the list that does have “flat” in its title.
Have you watched any of the videos with the sovereign citizens. Their nonsense is also so easy to disprove, yet they’re a growing herd. And a number of them are also flat earthers.
They’re immune to logic, reason, and the way science is correctly done.
The answer to the OP is- Both. Some are sincere- and you cant argue them out of it. Some are just fooling around- and you cant argue them out if it either.
Same with Moon landing deniers*, and nearly any conspiracy cultists.
One new data point is “The final experiment”; basically a (somewhat) wealthy guy has offered to pay a number of prominent flat earthers, and prominent “globe earthers” to go to Antarctica next month and see the 24 hour sun, something both sides agree would prove that the earth is round.
…or at least they used to. Because, somewhat predictably, faced with the prospect of their worldview collapsing (as well as their income stream) several flerfers have now said a 24 hour sun will prove nothing, despite previously saying otherwise on their own channels.
In answer to the OP, I would say it is complicated. While there was a period where the vast majority were just trolling, it’s a very committed group now IME. But just like with the final experiment, most will make excuses when it comes to testing their ideas, indicating a lack of actual confidence.
For example, I’m on a discussion forum where there is a poster “noodles” who has posted literally thousands of times about flat earth – far beyond the level of patience a troll would have. However, when I’ve suggested he do things like see the moons of Jupiter in a telescope, he suddenly has an urgent appointment for every remaining night of his life.
I don’t understand why Round-Earthers use such elaborate arguments to persuade Flat Earthers instead of just the more direct approach: that even cameras mounted on homemade backyard rockets, when reaching an altitude of 90,000 feet or so, clearly show Earth curvature.
Recent events have shown me that there are a lot more people that believe what is easy and convenient rather than what is real than I thought.
A hell of a lot more.
Most lenses have some degree of fish eyeness*, and the amount of curvature that’s visible in earth’s atmosphere is small.
I know it’s possible to do the math and calculate how much of the curvature is real, but flerfers arent great at maths, and aren’t likely to be convinced this way.
In general, I find the best defense is a good offense. Instead of trying to debunk their claims, go on the attack. Just say, “If you believe the Earth is flat, I believe you have no fingers.”
If they show you their fingers, just say they’re faking it.
My Son likes to eff with people about these things. To the point he’s in a Bigfoot hunting club, of sorts(they mainly drink beer and lie).
He believes none of it.
He is kinda sunk into the preparedness thinking lifestyle.
Which is more of a sustainability and protection from outside forces.
He certainly doesn’t believe in a zombie apocalypse or sun flares are gonna do it.
Doesnt stop him from spouting the gibberish for S&Gs on a Sunday afternoon. When he’s bored.
There is that flat-earther documentary where, at the end, they spent a lot of money to prove the earth was flat. Of course, their experiment failed to prove a flat earth and instead proved round earth.
I’d think that going to those lengths and spending a lot of money suggests they were true believers.
Yeah. There was a documentary about “Proof there really were mermaids”
People bought that crap hook, line and sinker. (Pun intended, a real fish story)
Some folks are easily swayed into believing stuff. Like @Czarcasm says, I, too never knew how much til recently.
That’s just playing into their hands. You don’t ask them to confirm your beliefs - you demand that they prove theirs. The world is flat? Fine. Then show me the edge.