When a news story falls
through the cracks,
Lewis Black catches it
for a segment we call
Back in Black.
-♪ ♪
-(cheering, applause)
When I was a kid,
there were certain things
you learned in school.
One plus one equals two.
 And you get to watch TV
the rest of the day
if the president gets shot.
But most importantly,
facts were facts.
That's why we
called them "facts"!
But these days, from Facebook
to the White House,
reality is optional.
And here's the ultimate proof.
NEWSMAN: We're also learning
 more about a bizarre conference
in Denver.
There are ads taking over
the airwaves and billboards,
going up along the highways.
Take a look.
 Well, the event is for people
 who don't believe
 the Earth is round.
 It turns out Colorado has
 a high concentration
 of the so-called Flat Earthers.
Oh, what a surprise!
Colorado, where there's
not enough oxygen
-and tons of weed!
-(laughter)
Of course they think
the Earth is flat.
I'm surprised
they don't think the Earth
is a chalupa
inside a snow globe.
Listen, here's how we know
the Earth is round, okay?
If you look
at the curvature of the...
Wait a second.
Why am I arguing with you?
You're wrong!
We don't have to waste our time
trying to convince you.
But if you want
to waste your time
trying to convince us, go ahead.
MAN:
Do you feel yourself spinning?
Wobbling? Gyrating?
No, I'm pretty rock solid.
Toilet water's not flying out
on people in Australia
because of gravity.
Well, hello.
Photos of the Earth from space.
Completely and utterly false.
(beeping)
Flat Earthers also
do not believe
that there is
any such thing as space.
 The space shots are actually
 shot in a swimming pool.
Wha-What? There's
no such thing as space?
Then where do we
keep sending our monkeys?
I was told my tax dollars
were going
to murdering monkeys in space.
And now you're telling me
they're just faking it
in a Jacuzzi?
Now, in simpler times,
if you had a dumb thought,
you'd think it and then go back
to selling your blood for meth.
It was a perfect system.
But with the Internet, your
stupidity can make you famous.
NEWSMAN: Patricia Steere is
 one of what you might call
 the stars of today's
 Flat Earth movement,
 which mostly orbits
 around YouTube.
♪ Hey, cat, catch the chat ♪
♪ Did you realize
the Earth is flat? ♪
(laughter)
Now, that song slaps...
by which I mean, it makes me
want to slap someone!
Look, any idiot
can sit in their bedroom
uploading conspiracy theories
to YouTube,
but it takes a special idiot
to launch himself into space
for the cause.
NEWSMAN: Meet Michael Hughes,
 "Mad Mike" to his fans.
 He now has a plan
 to go 62 miles up
 to the edge of space,
 where he'll be able to see,
 or not see, the curve of Earth.
My rocket will fire,
pull me through the balloon,
and then actually
once the rocket quits firing,
I will actually fly
like Superman
for, like, another 30 seconds.
(chuckles)
My favorite:
barbecued moron.
Listen, you may not learn
whether the Earth is round,
but I have a feeling
you're about to learn
a lot about gravity. Ha-ha!
-Trevor.
-Lewis Black, everyone!
