Why do people deny the U.S. has gone to the Moon?

[westen44]

Without going into personal details, I have to say I've known people who have been involved in the space program all my life.  That's why this is so frustrating to me.  Because in my excitement of talking about the Artemis 2 moon mission, I've been shocked to find out that two of my friends don't even believe the U.S. ever went to the Moon.  Or that Artemis 2 is real, either.  It's true I'm right here where it happened and they're 4,000 miles away.  Still, you don't have to be sitting right by the space program to know that it's real.  I've been trying to do research to understand why people deny that there is involvement with Outer Space.  So far the only thing I've come up with is that a lot of people have such little faith in government that they don't believe a government could send people to the Moon.  Or that something like Artemis 2 can be real.  I would like to get the autographs from the astronauts.  My uninformed friends don't even take them seriously.  One of them doesn't want to talk about it.  The other keeps sending videos which he thinks prove Buzz Aldrin never went to the Moon.  It isn't just frustrating; it's actually a little sad.  All I can say is that if someone takes conspiracy theories this far, may God help them.  When I went to school, they taught us critical thinking skills.  I guess maybe that's not happening too much anymore. 

[Ken]

Probably the same type of people who think the Earth is flat.  Ignorance and/or stupidity and/or gullibility.  It's a shame these people have the ability to reproduce.

[westen44]

There is a lunatic called Bill Kaysing who wrote a book trying to prove the moon landing was a hoax.  In regard to that Astronaut Jim Lovell called his claims wacky.  Kaysing sued him. 

Lovell said:

The guy is wacky.  His position makes me feel angry,  We spent a lot of time getting ready to go to the Moon.  We spent a lot of money; we took great risks and it's something everybody in this country should be proud of. 

[Ken]

Can't fix stupid.

[westen44]

Unfortunately, this is affecting me on a personal level in some ways.  It's just a matter of circumstances.  I'm realizing that people not believing in the space program is a pet peeve I have zero tolerance for.  It is so ludicrous.  It's like somebody trying to convince Mick Jagger he was never in the Rolling Stones because someone posted a YouTube video saying that. 

[Pilgrim]

Some people just like to spread lies. I can't explain their mental state, I just observe it. The current world situation has brought a lot more of them out of the woodwork, perhaps because they have role models in social media.

More than that, some people feel compelled to read/watch/hear and believe those lies, even when they contradict easily observable fact.

Such has always been the case, and the increasingly pervasive media situation just seems to encourage them.

Of course, many observations of this phenomenon may be made in today's world.

[uwe]

It is incredibly convenient for some people to invent simplistic conspiracy theories for things they fail to understand in an increasingly complex world.

Besides, you guys did not go to the moon, we did!

And veere still zere!

[Pilgrim]

Ah, Doktor Van Braun!

After WWII, we managed to "recruit" better Nazi scientists than the Roosians did. Those whitewashed scientists kick-started our space program. Tom Lehrer was right on target.

I had a radio talk show for a few years; I liked to drop in Tom Lehrer tunes as often as possible.

As a university type, one of my all-time faves (with special reference to "undergrads" and "the razor blade of life"):

[westen44]

My father worked just one building over from Wernher von Braun for years.  I don't know if he ever met him.  I think it's safe to say WVB was on a much higher level.  For a time, there were so many Germans in Huntsville the bookstore at the mall had a whole German language section (mostly magazines.) 

Speaking of the space program, I find this video quite good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIVOjDH7lQI