Moon Crash
A google search of Albert Einstein can pull up an enormous amount of information. Pages and pages of links. Amongst these links are memes of his words through quotes and videos that may or may not have been said by him. This includes simple statements manipulated or taken out of context — these images of Einstein and his “quotes” flood social media. As we struggle for a credible source and attempt to interpret genius, we pass around these links without considering if the piece, itself, is even authentic. Snopes.com offered a look into a few of these misquotes. The most recent, in November 2021, a video circulated on social media of Albert Einstein warning of the moon crashing into the Earth. Coincidentally, this prediction has come to a theater near you.
‘Moonfall’ is a movie about a mysterious force that knocks the moon off orbit and sends it on a collision course with Earth.
Snopes found the video part of a viral marketing crusade for the movie. They described several ways in which they established the video as fake. They found the mouth of Albert Einstein to be “jerky and a bit unnatural” but warned of the growing number of videos that are being developed and are much more impressive. This form of a fabricated movie is called a deepfake, a synthetic form of media that is on the rise. There are apps to download to try your talents at facial morphing. They can range from seemingly funny and innocent to disturbing. (Check out Danielle Citron’s TEDtalk on “how deepfakes undermine truth and threaten democracy” at https://www.youtube.com for a look into disturbing.) The original Einstein movie may have been taken from Eleanor Roosevelt’s first television interview (Today with Mrs. Roosevelt* | Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project | The George Washington University (gwu.edu). She spoke to Albert Einstein and other experts about the hydrogen bomb and atomic energy. This piece of video may have been used in this deepfake manner.
There was also a link at the end of the video that Snopes found suspicious, moontruth.net. I tried to visit this site, but it has been taken down.
In my search for legitimate Albert Einstein quotes, Snopes again offered two sources. The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Digital Einstein Papers Home (princeton.edu), and the Albert Einstein Archives, Albert Einstein Archives (huji.ac.il). I had trouble looking up anything through the Albert Einstein Archives; the site has a temporary catalog with a ‘coming soon’ popup. However, I found Princeton.edu helpful and saved several exciting pieces written by Albert Einstein himself that I will keep for a later date.
With the enormous amount of disinformation at our fingertips, we must take the time to check sources. We must replace fast-checking with fact-checking. In an age of quick and easy nothing can be left to assumption. We must not assume social media sites to be true. We must not assume our internet results will give way to the best and most trusted sources. We must not assume that because a friend or group of friends, coworkers, elected officials are knowledgeable about certain subjects, their knowledge can define all truths for us as individuals. If you ask Google, “what is the best source of truth?” Google replies with, “Jesus.” The truth is, as we have disinformation, misinformation, logical fallacies, fake news, and now deepfake media, we might start to question what is true and better understand the truth.
Written by Jennifer Gesenhues
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Work Cited:
Google. “Google Homepage.” Google, Alphabet Inc, 2019, google.com.
“TEDTalks: Danielle Citron — How Deepfakes Undermine Truth and Threaten Democracy.” Films On Demand, Films Media Group, 2019, fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=95547&xtid=209704. Accessed 24 Feb. 2022.
“Did Einstein Warn the Moon Could Crash into Earth?” Snopes.com, www.snopes.com/fact-check/einstein-moon-crash/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022.
“A Universal Force.” Snopes.com, www.snopes.com/fact-check/einstein-universal-force/?collection-id=395071. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022.
“Today with Mrs. Roosevelt* | Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project | the George Washington University.” Erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu, erpapers.columbian.gwu.edu/today-mrs-roosevelt. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022.
“Einstein’s Warning about the Moon and the Future of Humanity.” Www.youtube.com, youtu.be/dahCtYWQwiA. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022.
“Moonfall (2022 Movie) Announcement Teaser — Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley.” Www.youtube.com, youtu.be/QRbsmbr4HFM. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022.
“Digital Einstein Papers Home.” Princeton.edu, 2019, einsteinpapers.press.princeton.edu/.
“Albert Einstein Archives.” Albert-Einstein.huji.ac.il, albert-einstein.huji.ac.il/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2022.
