Viral ‘flat Earth’ videos miss basic geometry when comparing Antarctica’s perimeter to Earth’s circumference

On 8 February 2025, two videos (linked here and here) were shared by a Facebook page called ‘Flat Earth Life’ that claim we are being deceived about Antarctica’s size, and thus the very nature of our planet. Together, these videos have accumulated roughly 200,000 views and stirred up heated debates in the comment sections. 

So what sparked these debates? The videos claim we are being deceived about Antarctica, because its perimeter is supposedly larger than Earth’s circumference, which the videos claim should not be possible. One of the videos even goes so far as to claim that Antarctica is a ‘ring’ of ice around the world, rather than a continent at Earth’s southern pole. 

Although this is our first time covering a conspiracy about Antarctica’s perimeter, it’s not the first time we’ve encountered misinformation about the continent itself. In past reviews, we’ve covered claims that Antarctica doesn’t exist and is just an ‘ice wall’ and claims that acknowledge the continent exists but that there are ‘pyramids from ancient civilizations’ there. Both claims were found to be false. In this review we will show why the perimeter of Antarctica – or any complex shape – can be larger than you might expect.

A smaller shape with many irregular sides can have a bigger perimeter or circumference than that of a larger smooth-sided shape

Aside from overwhelming evidence that Antarctica is indeed a continent and the Earth is round – not flat – as we covered in a past review, recent claims about Antarctica’s perimeter have a more fundamental flaw: they fail to account for basic geometry.  

The underlying assumption for this claim is that ‘a smaller shape should never have a bigger perimeter or circumference than a larger shape’. But this is not always true. It’s technically correct for two of the same shapes with perfectly smooth sides. In those cases, a small square will always have a smaller perimeter than a larger square, and the same for the circumferences of differently-sized circles. However, everything changes when you compare different types of shapes – particularly when their edges or sides are more complex, because small sides can add up quickly in great numbers (Figures 1 and 2). 

When scientists talk about Earth’s circumference, they are approximating it to a smooth circle – you can imagine it like measuring the length of a belt wrapped around the equator. However, this is not at all how Antarctica is measured. Coastlines have an irregular fractal-like geometry^[1], meaning the closer you zoom in on a coastline, the more complex its geometry becomes.

And just as a squiggly line pulled straight is longer than it first appeared, so too are jagged, complex coastlines. The irregularities in coastlines, which are carved into the landmass and ice through erosional processes, make calculating a continent’s perimeter quite difficult. In fact, there is no single number that is the ‘most accurate’ representation of a coastline – this is known as the ‘coastline paradox’. 

That being said, by adding smaller and smaller line segments along the coastline, you can get a better approximation of its total length or perimeter. For example, an international team of scientists led by NASA Earth Observatory collaborated on a project called ‘Antarctic Surface Accumulation and Ice Discharge (ASAID)’ and measured Antarctica’s icy edge to be roughly 53,610 kilometers (33,312 miles) by connecting 3.5 million geographic points. Part of the resulting map – shown below in Figure 3 – highlights the irregular patterns encountered when measuring a coastline. 

Using this approach of adding up intricate small line segments between measurement points, the fractal-like perimeter of Antarctica’s ice is indeed larger than the circumference of Earth – which is roughly 40,070 kilometers (24,898 miles). However, recent videos on social media fail to account for this complexity when attempting to recreate measurements of Antarctica’s perimeter. 

Instead people on social media used Google Earth, which is a useful geospatial tool but far from matching the accuracy of measuring Antarctica’s perimeter by interconnecting 3.5 million points. Measuring in the ways that were shown in recent social media videos, such as tracing Antarctica with only 15 lines, smooths over the complex geometry – and thus significantly reduces the length – of Antarctica’s coastlines. 

While less accurate, you could also choose to measure Antarctica’s coastline using ‘broader strokes’, ignoring the complexity of its bays, inlets, icy outcrops, and other natural features by tracing over them with longer, straighter lines. Measuring in this way could easily result in Antarctica’s perimeter being smaller than the circumference of the Earth. However, this is still not ‘proof’ of Antarctica being an ‘ice wall’ rather than a continent. 

Making rough measurements in Google Earth – or pointing out the errors that occur on the website while doing so – does not overwrite scientists’ findings about Antarctica or indicate flaws in their understanding of Antarctica as a continent. To suggest otherwise is misleading. 

In addition, the misleading and inaccurate approach social media users took to measure Antarctica in recent videos were used to support their incorrect claims that Antarctica is an ‘ice wall’ and that ‘Earth is flat’. There is overwhelming evidence that Earth is round (explained here) and that Antarctica is a continent. As explained in a past review, several independent sources and lines of evidence show that Antarctica does exist and is in fact a continent, not an ‘ice wall’:

• Satellite imagery of Antarctica showing that it is continental landmass –  not a wall (linked here and here; see Figure 4);
• Photos taken in Antarctica showing mountains and other rocky terrain (i.e., not just ice);
• Well over a century of ship records and Antarctic expeditions;
• Studies of continental movement via plate tectonics (e.g., studies have found Antarctica began slowly moving to its current position roughly 182 million years ago^[2,3]

References:

• 1 – Husain et al. (2021) Fractal dimension of coastline of Australia. Scientific Reports. 
• 2 – Moulin et al. (2011) An attempt to constrain the age, duration, and eruptive history of the Karoo flood basalt: Naude’s Nek section (South Africa). Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.
• 3 – Svensen (2018) Gondwana Large Igneous Provinces: plate reconstructions, volcanic basins and sill volumes. Geological Society, London, Special Publications.