While the Orion capsule dropped into the Pacific off San Diego, social media was ablaze with another narrative: “green screen,” “they never left Earth,” “it’s all CGI.” A video from the crew’s live CNN interview went viral with over 1.5 million views because letters appeared “through” the mission’s floating mascot. Comments flooded in: “Fake as hell. They never went up. Whole thing’s a staged circus.”

What skeptics say: the mission launched on April 1 (April Fools’ Day), available footage is limited, AI can fabricate any image, and “inconsistencies” in the footage prove the astronauts are actors. Surveys show about 10% of Americans doubt the Moon landings.

What experts say: the video “glitch” was a failed text overlay by the TV network that syndicated NASA’s official feed, not from the original broadcast. The image of astronauts in front of a “green screen” turned out to be AI-generated: Glover’s fingers appeared fused together. Photos of Earth and the Moon are verifiable with independent astronomical data. The capsule reentered at Mach 33 and was tracked by military and civilian systems worldwide.