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Analysis
Conspiracy theorists who believe the earth is flat are circulating clips of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in which she discusses the “glass ceiling,” a metaphor often used to describe an invisible barrier that holds women back in their careers.
But according to conspiracy theorists, Clinton is actually referring to a glass dome that covers the flat earth. Clearly, this isn’t true.
In one such speech from 2008, Clinton, who had just lost the Democratic presidential nomination, referenced the glass ceiling while discussing her campaign.
The glass ceiling was also mentioned by Clinton 8 years later after she became the presumptive Democratic presidential nomination during the 2016 election season.
“It may be hard to see tonight, but we are all standing under a glass ceiling right now.”
When conceding the presidential election to Donald Trump, Clinton once again discussed the glass ceiling in a speech to her supporters.
Incredibly, all such quotes have repeatedly been used by flat earth believers to promote their world views.
The claim began circulating once again across social media this month, leading the majority of people to mock it outright. Flat earth enthusiasts, however, were quick to fight back.
“What about those multiple videos of Hillary Clinton saying we will break that glass dome one day?” one Twitter user asked.
Others mentioned Clinton’s comments as well while espousing their belief that the earth may not be all that it’s purported to be.
“Hillary made her comment about finally breaking through the glass sealing [sic], another said. “There are videos of rockets hitting something that is invisible and continues to spin. Round or flat, these things say something is fishy.”
Even when presented with the correct context, conspiracy theorists refuse to believe that Clinton was merely discussing women in the workplace.
“Even gold [sic] ol Hillary gave us a hint in her 2016 debate speech w/Trump about breaking glass ceilings,” a separate Twitter user wrote. “Ppl thought she was referring to woman [sic] in biz, but it was her way of telling us w/o telling us.”
While it shouldn’t come as a shock to readers of the “One Dumb Conspiracy” newsletter, Clinton’s remarks about a glass ceiling have absolutely nothing to do with flat earth or a secret dome covering the planet.
The earth also isn’t flat and isn’t covered by a glass dome.
While such beliefs still remain fringe, they have grown significantly in the 21st century with the spread of the internet. Don’t be surprised in the future if any mentions made by Clinton of the glass ceiling are used to revive flat earth talking points.
Why it matters
Luckily, the flat earth movement has done little damage to U.S. politics in the same way as other conspiracy theories such as QAnon.
But the persistence of the belief, which can be traced back to biblical times, will likely continue into the unforeseeable future.
