A viral rumor straight out of science fiction has been gripping conspiracy theorists on social media, and has even led the US’ leading space agency to clear up the confusion.
According to the fact-checking website Snopes, a theory was posted on Instagram in Dec. 2025 by a now-deleted account, which boldly claimed that the Earth would lose gravity for 7 seconds on Aug. 12 — leading to mass panic, economic collapse, and an estimated 40 million people falling to their deaths. The caption on the Instagram post explained the dire situation was spelled out in an alleged secret NASA document called “Project Anchor," which had been leaked in 2024. There has also been no evidence of the supposed program “Project Anchor.”
NASA tried to wrangle in the rumor, releasing a statement debunking the wild claim. A spokesperson told Snopes in January that the Earth would quote, “not lose gravity” and that the only cosmic event predicted for Jan. 12 was a total solar eclipse.
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