- Earth's gravity will not disappear on August 12, NASA confirms
- Claims of gravity loss due to black hole waves are scientifically false
- Gravitational waves have minimal effect when reaching Earth
Viral claims circulating on the internet warning that Earth's gravity will briefly disappear on Wednesday, August 12, are completely false, NASA has clarified. The bizarre conspiracy theory has been spreading online since late 2025 and gained fresh attention as the supposed date of the event approached. It claims that gravitational waves from a collision between two black holes millions of years ago are heading towards Earth and could somehow switch off the planet's gravity.
NASA dismissed the theory, pointing out a basic scientific fact that Earth's gravity is determined by its mass, which does not suddenly disappear. "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. The Earth will not lose gravity on Aug. 12, 2026, NASA added, as per New York Post.
Posts circulating on social media claim that a secret NASA programme called Project Anchor has identified a gravitational event that would make Earth temporarily weightless. According to the claims, the event would happen on August 12 at a specific time and last for seven seconds. Some versions of the theory even allege that the US government has prepared an $89 billion programme, including underground bunkers, to protect selected people and preserve humanity after the disaster.
The most extreme posts claim that people, animals, cars, trains, rocks and even oceans would be lifted into the air. Buildings would allegedly begin falling apart before gravity suddenly returned, causing everything to crash back to Earth.
The conspiracy theories go as far as predicting millions of deaths and a decade-long economic collapse.
However, there is no scientific evidence that gravitational waves could switch off Earth's gravity.
Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime produced by extremely violent cosmic events, including the merger of black holes. By the time these waves reach Earth, their effects are extraordinarily small. Observatories such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detect these tiny changes using extremely sensitive instruments.
There is no known mechanism by which a passing gravitational wave could make Earth's gravity disappear.
The supposed Project Anchor appears to have originated with a December 2025 Instagram post. An investigation by Snopes found that the account behind the claim was known for publishing AI-generated and sensational stories. The claim then went viral on TikTok, X and other social media platforms, where increasingly dramatic versions of the story began circulating.
The conspiracy theory gained extra momentum because August 12 happens to coincide with several genuine astronomical events. A solar eclipse, a planetary alignment visible in the dawn sky and the peak of the Perseid meteor shower are all occurring around this time. However, these events have no connection to any sudden change in Earth's gravity.
"A total solar eclipse has no unusual impact on Earth's gravity," the space agency said. "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," NASA added.
