During an election year it’s nice to take solace in the fact that no matter how divided things may seem the internet supports all theories and ideas. Whether based on scientific fact or ten miles out of left field, if you submit a theory into the Wi-Fi abyss, someone is going to agree with you. None proves this more than a good old conspiracy theory – a gift that keeps on giving.

The beauty with most conspiracy theories is that even when debunked, one can double down and claim that it’s all part of a larger “cover-up.” We know that they know, because they want us to know that we know, to deflect from the real thing that they don’t know we already know, you know?

Recently, I stumbled across a nugget of tin foil conspiracy through a classic means of communication – by eavesdropping on a conversation at a bar.

It occurred while watching the foam settle on my third pour of fermented suds, parked on a stool, listening to my inner monologue rant when an exterior voice from two fellas next to me interrupted. “Yeah, man, NASA has a fleet of old school cars. They are maliciously maintained in case a solar flare comes and wipes out all our technology. We’re already overdue for one; when it hits it’ll erase all our digital photos, GPS, internet. Stone age!” The other man listening nodded with agreement and sealed the conversation with a four-letter sample of profanity.

The idea of NASA hoarding project cars peeked my interest enough to turn over my phone and conduct a quick Google search. The first result was an article from Florida Today that debunked the whole theory, followed by several links to Reddit and TikTok supporting the hoax theory – as is customary in the modern internet climate.

This whole thing started in March 2023 when a fleet of vintage cars were transported and parked at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, to be used as props for an Apple TV produced film titled “Project Artemis.” Described as a romantic comedy, Project Artemis is set during the late 1960s at the height of the Space Race, starring Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Woody Harrelson and Ray Romano. Nothing sells the imagery of Cold War era tension like chrome bumpers and filled ashtrays placed in the background while actors say their lines. The film is scheduled to be available for streaming in July of this year.

During production this fleet of camera-ready-classics stayed at the NASA facility. In January of this year, a POV-style video clip of NASA’s parking lot was posted on social media. Set at night under the amber glow of streetlights, the camera pans around a variety of classic metal with a giant NASA logo in the background set to ominous music. The voiceover addresses the “creepiness” of the environment and states, “Why does NASA have all these old school cars? My thoughts are they’re cars without computers in them.”

@spiritmindmatter

Is NASA hiding something from us? #nasa #cars #government #base #conspiracy #emp

♬ original sound – Spirit-Mind-Matter

The voiceover then mislabels the vehicles as being from the 1970s before proposing the idea that NASA is preparing for an “EMP blast” as the video shows a charcuterie board of vehicles from Detroit’s Big Three ranging from tractor-trailers, ambulances, a news station wagon, and cargo vans with NASA decals. The video ends with a statement about these cars somehow being funded by a “50 million dollar a day budget” that’s clearly not going towards sending taxpayers on a luxury cruise to the dark side of the moon.

The NASA car collection conspiracy gained traction on the formerly known Twitter, X social platform, and TikTok as other users reposted the video to drop into any NASA related government conspiracy or electromagnetic pulse EMP cyberattack rabbit holes.

Scanning through the comments, a lot of people took it on face value and believe that NASA is betting on old F-100 and C-10 pickup trucks as potential life preservers in case the satellites go down. Comments stating the cars are just movie props were meant with replies of NASA being cozy in bed with Hollywood, referring to one of the greatest hits collection conspiracy theories that Stanely Kubrick filmed a project called the “Apollo Moon Landing” starring Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

Classic car movie props being mistaken for a government funded doomsday conspiracy theory is just another day on the internet. However, the deep state and propaganda machine theories aside, it’s funny to imagine a worst-case scenario where an EMP wipes out all modern communication, and the only people capable of helping are delayed because they flooded the carburetor on a 1966 Dodge Polara.

Then again, for all I know, this whole thing is part of a larger multi-media marketing campaign to spread awareness about the movie.

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