Post wrongly claims a massive cube has been discovered in Antarctica | Fact check

Isabel C. Morales, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
35

The claim: A giant cube was found in Antarctica

[En Español: Mensaje afirma erróneamente que se descubrió un cubo gigante en la Antártida]

A Jan. 21 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of a large cube in the middle of an icy terrain that is radiating light. Two illuminated figures are outside.

“A 1.9-mile cube is discovered inside Antarctica’s ice wall, from where the Matrix’s simulation brain is controlled,” the post reads in Spanish.

The post was shared more than 200 times in 10 days. A similar claim on X, formerly Twitter, was shared more than 900 times.

More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Our rating: False

Multiple experts said the claim is nonsense. There are no credible reports about a giant cube found in Antarctica.

Experts say there is no such thing

Several experts denied the possibility of a giant cube being found in Antarctica.

"There is no basis for this whatsoever," Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, told USA TODAY. "My guess would be that is a made-up conspiracy theory perhaps inspired by the IceCube Neutrino Observatory. That is simply a man-made sensor to detect neutrinos."

IceCube, located at the South Pole, is a particle detector made up of Antarctic ice that is a cubic kilometer in size and buried 1.6 miles deep, according to the observatory's website. The detector searches for neutrinos, subatomic particles that could unlock some of the "biggest mysteries about the universe," according to Space.com.

Carlos Argüelles-Delgado, an assistant professor at Harvard University and a neutrino physicist who uses data from IceCube, also refuted the claim.

“This is not scientifically accurate," he told USA TODAY. "It seems like pseudo-science or fiction."

Glacial geologist Bethan Davies pointed out such a sighting would not go unnoticed.

"Satellites could certainly show a cube of this size," she wrote in an email to USA TODAY.

Fact check: No, it is not illegal to travel to Antarctica

The claim also mentions the "Antarctic ice wall," a common piece of the false flat Earth theory that USA TODAY has previously debunked. Experts said the concept that Antarctica is an ice wall surrounding a flat earth is fiction and scientifically impossible.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, a giant cube hasn't been discovered in Antarctica | Fact check