This week I was thinking about reining in my woo woo just a little bit, but then I saw people making fun of the stories about the Artemis II mission to the moon or circling the moon or whatever the plot twist was last week.
The New York Post pointed out “Conspiracy theorists are going bonkers over a new NASA video that they claim “proves” the Artemis II mission to the moon is staged in front of a green screen.”
Add to that, the crew gave a live interview on CNN (another outlet I can’t even come close to taking seriously) and it is understandable how the twisted conundrum of Americans questioning just about everything the government says is also casting shadows on situations that are likely true (I mean, everything can’t be a lie, right)?
My AI program pointed out to me that, “Claims that the Artemis II mission is fake, staged, or produced using AI and green screens are false according to digital forensics experts and fact-checkers.”
Thanks AI, but can we really trust you either?
That and the FACT the word “fact-checker” sends me into fits of laughter and it has for about five years now.
Whenever I see that word “fact-checker” my false flag antennas go up and I think to myself “Houston, we’ve got a problem.”
Tidbits of the fake Artemis II allegations include a supposed “glitch” due to a failed text overlay from a news station, not an error in the live feed itself, according to one report.
There were also AI and green screen claims and comments that images shown were fake, photos that were actually older, unrelated images, and that one photo was from a 2025 moon observation, passed off as Artemis II footage.
NASA said the idea of the mission to the Moon being a hoax is “absurd.”
I hear that loud and clear.
To me, however, what is even more absurd is that so many people think our government would actually falsify to the point of faking a moon exploration and that they think in the 21st century they could really get away with it.
Even more absurd is while we are flying off to the moon, we have politicians coming out an saying that full-on interdimensional travelers (i.e. aliens as they would be called in the past) are living on planet Earth and apparently NASA does not seem to have a clue or much of a comment that these aliens are already among us.
NASA’s big thing is that it “actively searches for extraterrestrial life, focusing on microbial life within our solar system (e.g., Mars, Europa) and detecting biosignatures in exoplanet atmospheres using tools like the James Webb Space Telescope. While officials consider the existence of alien life probable due to the vastness of the universe, there is no credible, direct evidence that Earth has been visited.”
Um, has anyone over at NASA talked to Tenn. Congressman Tim Burchett, Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, or former Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz about the alien life topic (www.congress.gov/event/118th-congress/house-event/LC73681/text) – read my column last week if you are scratching your head.
Of course, maybe NASA is just not looking in the right place for “alien life.” Kind of like if you are looking for the toilet in the kitchen.
NASA’s officials and scientists have even stated they have not seen evidence of visits from, or technology belonging to, intelligent alien life forms, and they are using a “confidence of life detection” scale to verify potential signs, such as detecting oxygen and methane in combinations that suggest biological replenishment.
Again, someone over at NASA needs to talk to the politicians above so they can get on the same page about the evidence of visits since everyone except NASA seems to be “in the know.”
Back to the “faux” moon mission, this time around and back in the 60s (www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2026/04/07/conspiracy-theory-moon-landing-fake-artemis-2/89498292007) is a good read and noted, “If you find yourself in a debate questioning whether humankind first stepped on the Moon on 20 July 1969 the chances are that you are woefully underprepared,” the Institute of Physics website says.
Apparently, there is much physical evidence of a moon landing from the past including more than 8,000 publicly available photos, thousands of hours of video footage, transcripts, and audio recordings of all air-to-ground conversations and more than 380 kilograms of moon rock that the Apollo astronauts brought back to Earth.
And just to play devil’s advocate if enough people believe something happened does that mean it did?
Regarding Artemis II, this article by the Japan Times is a good read (www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/04/11/world/science-health/artemis-mission-conspiracy-theories) explaining the ins and outs of the idea that this latest mission was a hoax.
One comment in the article that is worth considering “Once confined to the internet’s fringes, conspiracy theories have moved squarely into the mainstream amid growing mistrust of public institutions and traditional media.”
How did that mistrust happen?
Well people woke up to a big bunch of lies.
I also did have to chuckle when “disinformation researcher Mike Rothschild” was quoted in this article saying, “Scientific achievements such as the lunar mission present very easy content for conspiracy influencers.”
I have a tough time taking anything seriously coming from anyone with the last name Rothschild, for obvious reasons.
All I know for sure after living the last five or so years on planet Earth is that when I grow up, I want to be a misinformation expert. Imagine telling mom and dad that is what you plan on majoring in and more to the point, what classes at University will I be taking exactly.
From my view out here in the audience since the COVID times these fancy “misinformation experts” have been putting out as much misinformation as those they are claiming to be debunking.
Remember, in any situation these days, first follow your soul’s message and from there keep in mind that organizations like, for example, the CIA has a built-in strategy regarding clandestine operations, counterintelligence, and psychological deception. Remembering these strategies would be a clever idea in life these days.
Do you know what disinformation or deception, often in the form of “half-truths” or selective sharing of information to build credibility, looks like?
Would you recognize it if it was fed to you by the government, a news station or even a friend?
Memorize the fact that to make a lie work, the deception must be wrapped in credible, verifiable facts, you knew that, right?
The “Illusion of Truth” effect goes a long way too. That is the idea of a topic being repeated via a statement so often that people accept it as true, even if it is not.
How many times have we seen that happen in the past five or so years?
Whether it is related to Artemis II, the war (is it called a war since it was not declared by Congress) in Iran, the Epstein files, and the list goes on, comedian Ricky Gervais said about logic and intellectual honesty “facts are independent of human belief.”
A “fact” remains true whether you like it, hate it, or believe in it and no matter how many people hold a specific opinion, they do not have the power to change objective, physical, or historical truth.
Does anyone see any of that going on in the world these days?
In any situation in the world no matter your politics, religion, skin color, sexual preference, and so on, a rational person must be willing to update their viewpoints when presented with evidence of a “truth.”
Ignoring a “fact” to protect your opinion is irrational.
Did we go to the moon? Maybe or maybe not?
Is Trump doing a respectable job as president? Maybe or maybe not?
Are there interdimensional travelers on planet Earth? Maybe or maybe not?
Will the sun come out tomorrow? Maybe or maybe not?
Before you are willing to die on any hill for your ideas formed years ago or yesterday do your own research and take the time to get the facts so when you do die on that hill you are at least dying for a good reason.
Rita Cook is a freelance writer for The Ellis County Press. She can be reached at rcook13@earthlink.net.