Buzz Aldrin’s Reappearance Sparks New Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories

Los Angeles, CA – Buzz Aldrin, the Apollo 11 astronaut, has sparked renewed conspiracy theories regarding the moon landing as footage of his past interviews surfaces online. On July 20, 1969, Aldrin, along with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, made history by landing on the moon, a monumental event still celebrated today.

As the 56th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission approaches, old clips of Aldrin have gained popularity among conspiracy theorists. One notable clip features him on the ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ show in 2000, where he challenges O’Brien’s memory of the landing. ‘No, you didn’t. There wasn’t any television, there wasn’t anyone taking a picture. You watched an animation,’ Aldrin states, which has fueled speculation that the landing was faked.

The video has garnered over a million views, with some using it as supposed evidence that the moon landing was staged to outsmart the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Another clip from 2015 shows Aldrin at a Q&A session at Oxford Union, where he allegedly claims, “It didn’t happen,” but this statement was taken out of context. The full audio reveals he was discussing the technical challenges of the mission, specifically a broken circuit breaker.

Fact-checkers, including Reuters, have debunked the edited versions of Aldrin’s remarks. They emphasize that Aldrin was correcting misconceptions about the type of footage Americans saw during the moon landing. He clarified that viewers saw animated graphics rather than actual live footage.

Aldrin has expressed frustration toward conspiracy theories and those who imply his achievements are fabricated. This was evident in an incident in 2002 where he punched a conspiracy theorist, Bart Sibrel, after being harassed about his role in the moon landing.

Despite the debunking of these conspiracy theories, public skepticism persists. Studies estimate that between 10 to 25 percent of Americans still question the authenticity of the moon landings, with the theories gaining traction on social media over the years.