COMPLETE STATIC READING EDITION

Who believes it?

How many people doubt the landings, from 1995 to today.

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The strongest version of this theory
What the polls show

The strongest version of this theory

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Millions of people doubt it.

Even 6% of American adults is well over ten million people. A 2019 YouGov poll found that one in five Americans were not at all sure the landing happened, with more doubt among younger adults. [1][2]

The sources

YouGov, Kathy Frankovic: 50 years later, was the Moon landing worth it? (19 July 2019) ↗
Online poll: about one in five Americans “not at all sure” it happened; more doubt among under-50s.
AP: Polls show 5–6% of Americans believe the Moon landing was faked (July 2019) ↗
Associated Press story, reprinted. Quotes historian Roger Launius on the flag, stars and shadows.

What the polls show

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Steady at about 6%.

Gallup’s July 1999 poll found 6% said the government staged the landing, 89% said it did not, and 5% had no opinion. A TIME/CNN poll four years earlier found the same 6%. Gallup noted that about that many people in a typical poll agree with almost any question. [1]

The Associated Press reported in 2019 that polls have “consistently shown 5–6 percent” believe it was faked. [2] An Ipsos/C-SPAN poll that June found 6% staged and 78% real. [3]

YouGov’s 2019 poll found one in five “not at all sure”, and those alive in 1969 were 30 points more likely to say a fake was “definitely” not true. [4] Fox’s 2001 claim of 20% doubt is not backed by a published poll. [5]

What we can’t tell you. Poll wording matters. “Not sure” is not the same as “faked.”

The sources

Gallup: Landing a Man on the Moon, the public’s view (July 1999) ↗
Gallup poll, 13–14 July 1999: 6% said the landing was staged, 89% said it was real. Also reports a 1995 TIME/CNN result.
AP: Polls show 5–6% of Americans believe the Moon landing was faked (July 2019) ↗
Associated Press story, reprinted. Quotes historian Roger Launius on the flag, stars and shadows.
AEI, Karlyn Bowman: The Moon Landing and Beyond (16 July 2019) ↗
Poll roundup by a public-opinion specialist: Ipsos/C-SPAN 2019 (6% staged) and CBS (68% watched).
YouGov, Kathy Frankovic: 50 years later, was the Moon landing worth it? (19 July 2019) ↗
Online poll: about one in five Americans “not at all sure” it happened; more doubt among under-50s.
Slate: Fox’s 2001 special “Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?” (July 2019) ↗
Magazine retrospective. Quotes Fox’s own claim of about 15 million viewers, as reported in 2002.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE

The claims, rated.

3 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.

DOCUMENTED Polls, Artemis & now