Flat Earth YouTuber Recants After 9,000-Mile Antarctica Trip Proves 24-Hour Sun Exists

Jeran Campanella, a well-known figure in the flat Earth community and operator of the YouTube channel "Jeransim," embarked on a 9,000-mile journey from Salinas, California, to Antarctica as part of an initiative called "The Final Experiment." The trip, which took place in December 2024 and cost $37,700, aimed to investigate the behavior of the sun over the southernmost continent. Campanella sought to test his belief that a 24-hour sun—a phenomenon where the sun remains visible for a full day during the southern hemisphere’s summer—could not exist on a flat Earth. The expedition, organized by Colorado pastor Will Duffy, included four flat Earth advocates and four individuals who accept the Earth as a globe, with the goal of settling the debate over the planet’s shape through direct observation.

Upon arriving in Antarctica, Campanella witnessed the midnight sun, where the sun traced a continuous path across the sky without setting, a sight captured in a live-streamed broadcast that also showcased the icy landscape. This observation, which occurred around December 14, 2024, directly contradicted flat Earth models, particularly the commonly cited Azimuthal Equidistant map, which cannot account for the sun’s 24-hour cycle in the south. In a video statement, Campanella admitted, “Sometimes you are wrong in life. I thought there was no 24-hour sun. In fact, I was pretty sure of it,” acknowledging the phenomenon’s existence after previously denying it. He added, “I realize that I’ll be called a shill for just saying that and you know what, if you’re a shill for being honest so be it—I honestly believed there was no 24-hour sun… I honestly now believe there is.”

Despite this admission, Campanella stopped short of fully endorsing the spherical Earth model, stating, “I won’t say the Earth is a perfect sphere,” suggesting a partial shift rather than a complete reversal of his views. He noted, “To me, it means that the AE map no longer works, but that doesn’t mean that I’m right,” leaving interpretation open to his followers. The midnight sun, a result of Earth’s axial tilt and rotation, is a long-established proof of a spherical planet, recognized since ancient Greek philosophers like Eratosthenes confirmed the Earth’s shape over 2,000 years ago. Flat Earth theories, however, often posit Antarctica as an ice wall encircling a flat disc, with claims that the 1959 Antarctic Treaty restricts civilian access to conceal this supposed truth—an idea Duffy’s experiment aimed to debunk by facilitating the trip.

Duffy, who launched "The Final Experiment" to end the shape-of-the-Earth debate, declared, “After we go to Antarctica, no one has to waste any more time debating,” emphasizing the power of firsthand evidence. While Campanella acknowledged the 24-hour sun, other flat Earth participants remained skeptical, with some arguing it didn’t definitively disprove their model. The event, reported on December 19, 2024, by Yelena Mandenberg for The Mirror US, highlighted a rare moment of concession in a community known for its resistance to mainstream science, though it left the broader flat Earth debate unresolved for many of its adherents.

**Links and References:**

- Original article: [The Mirror US - Flat Earther admits he was wrong after traveling 9,000 miles to Antarctica to test his belief](https://www.themirror.com/news/flat-earther-admits-he-was-wrong-20241219)

- The Final Experiment YouTube channel: [Live stream footage](https://www.youtube.com/channel/TheFinalExperiment) (Note: Hypothetical link as exact URL not specified in source)