THERE is a growing conspiracy about the map of Australia and it has nothing do with the fact it looks like Scooby Doo.

According to a bizarre online movement, the map of Australia is not an accurate representation of how our continent is shaped.

In fact, these people will have you believe everything you think you know about the world is wrong and you should blame it on a global conspiracy involving NASA, governments and scientists.

These people are Flat-Earthers who hope to expose the fact our planet is not a sphere.

Those embedded in the wild theory believe the so-called “round Earth conspiracy” is something we have been tricked into believing since an early age through schooling and pop culture — the logo for Universal Pictures is heavily used as an example of this apparent conditioning.

So how exactly does the world look if it is indeed flat?

The “Flat Earth” movement believe our planet exists on a giant, flat plane, with Antarctica forming a large ice wall around the circumference.

Conspiracy theorists feel the best representation of the “Flat Earth” places the North Pole in the centre map, which is eerily similar to the UN Logo.

WAIT. IS THIS SERIOUS?

The idea of the Earth being flat is far from new, having been a notion shared by an wide range of cultures dating all the way back to ancient Greece.

Despite going in and out of favour, the concept regained serious momentum in the mid 20th century when Samuel Shenton established the Flat Earth Society in 1956.

Today, the “Flat Earth” movement has seen a recent resurgence, with Twitter and YouTube acting as incubators the conspiracy.

According to the Flat Earth Society, the most obvious proof of our planet’s flatness can be found by looking at the horizon.

“The horizon always rises to meet eye level — which is impossible on a ball Earth,” its website read.

Flat-Earthers claim the horizon will always remain completely flat to the observer, regardless of how high they travel and that people who claim to see the Earth’s curvature from a plane are lying.

Reality & real pictures don't lie. The horizon on a flat linear plane always rises to eye level. It would not do that on a globe! #flatearth pic.twitter.com/v33hiqiUwv — Gospel Truth (@BadBuc99) April 22, 2017

How many 500 mile sections of perfectly flat horizon, does it take to make a sphere? #flatearth pic.twitter.com/5W7GGpQllf — K. Koch (@bugmankoch) May 20, 2017

“We have testimonies from several pilots saying that no curvature can be seen at commercial airline heights. It has been suggested that aeroplane windows serve to distort the view of passengers and make them believe they see curvature when indeed there is none,” the website read.

To bolster their argument, Flat-Earthers suggest if our planet was a giant spinning sphere, the oceans of water would be flowing down to level and covering land, with some rivers also impossibly flowing uphill because the natural physics of water is to find and maintain its level.

But what about those pictures from space that clearly show Earth as a round planet?

“There are a plethora of resources available that show us we can’t trust the photographic evidence from organisations such as NASA,” the website read.

“Some of the evidence that these should be discounted include constant changes in their depiction of the Earth, inconsistent lighting in moon footage, and other irregularities.”

WHAT OTHER EVIDENCE DO THEY PREACH?

The “Flat Earth” conspiracy theorists hold the belief that our planet’s sky is surrounded by a huge dome that holds in the air and protects us, with the bible even making mentioning a firmamentin which the sun and moon were placed (Genesis 1:14-19).

While extremely complex, the movement believes the sun is actually much smaller and closer to Earth than we have be taught, with the angle of the sun’s rays offering so-called proof of this.

Flat-Earthers believe our day and night cycle is explained by the fact the sun and moon are spheres measuring 51 kilometres that move in circles 4,828km above the plane of the planet — a shift from scientific consensus, which states the sun is 149.6 million km from Earth.

“The sun moves in circles around the North Pole. When it is over your head, it’s day. When it’s not, it’s night. The sun acts like a spotlight and shines downward as it moves,” the society explained.

“The apparent effect of the sun rising and setting is usually explained as a perspective effect.

Explanation of the seasons in Flat Earth Theory.”

The “Flat Earth” movemet also has an answer for the seasons.

“The radius of the sun’s orbit around the Earth’s axis symmetry varies throughout the year, being smallest when summer is in the northern annulus and largest when it is summer in the southern annulus,” the website reads.

As for the reason why gravity doesn’t pull the earth into a spherical shape, “Flat Earth” advocates have a very simple answer: Gravity doesn’t exist. Righto.

DON’T BE SO QUICK TO BELIEVE

While some of these concepts might sound enticing enough to send you into the Flat-Earthers’ arms, remember, there are just as many sources that debunk the theory. Like, science.

What are your thoughts on the Flat Earth Theory? Continue the conversation in the comments below or with Matthew Dunn on Facebook and Twitter.