Bart Sibrel

Bart Sibrel
Bart Winfield Sibrel is a Nashville, Tennessee-based filmmaker who advances the conspiracy theory that the six Apollo Moon landings between 1969 and 1972 were hoaxes. He has filmed two documentaries on the subject: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon and Astronauts Gone Wild.

Dealings with Apollo astronauts

Most astronauts have refused to grant him interviews. The most infamous incident involved Apollo 11 crew member Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. According to Aldrin, he was lured to a Beverly Hills hotel under the pretext of an interview on space for a Japanese children's television show. When he arrived, Aldrin claims Sibrel was there demanding that he swear on a Bible that he had walked on the moon. When Aldrin refused, Sibrel called him a "coward", a "liar", and a "thief".[1] An exasperated Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw, which was recorded. Sibrel later attempted to use the tape to convince police and prosecutors that he was the victim of an assault. However, it was decided that Aldrin had been provoked, and, based on Sibrel's unfazed, nearly instant reaction to his cameraman, did not actually injure Sibrel, so no charges were filed. Many talk shows aired the clip, making Sibrel the butt of jokes.[2] Sibrel said later that he wrote a letter of apology to Aldrin.[3]

Claims
In the 2001 documentary, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon, Sibrel made several claims that he believed show that the Apollo Moon Landings were faked. Sibrel displayed footage which he claimed was accidentally sent to him from NASA, which, according to Sibrel, was evidence that the Apollo 11 astronauts were staging shots of the Earth to make it appear that the spacecraft was en route to the moon when Sibrel believes it was still in low Earth orbit.[4] [5] Those defending Project Apollo state the "secret" NASA footage Sibrel uses is actually widely available and merely shows the astronauts practicing for an upcoming live telecast.[6] Sibrel believes that the technology of the United States during the era was behind that of the Soviet Union. He points to a supposed "five-to-one superiority" in man-hours in space held by the Soviets over the US as well as highlighting several Soviet space firsts.[7] The veracity of the "five-to-one" figure has been challenged by the Clavius website, which is dedicated to the debunking of the Apollo Moon Landing hoax accusations stating that the Americans had a clear lead in man-hours in space by the time Apollo 11 was launched.[8] He has also stated the life-threatening events that occurred during the Apollo 13 mission were actually manufactured by the government to force people to pay attention to the space program. Bart Sibrel also participated in the controversial Fox Television Network special, Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? In it, Sibrel stated that, "I'd bet my life that we never went to the Moon."

Criticism
Jim McDade, writing in the Birmingham News, characterized A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon as "full of falsehoods, innuendo, strident accusations, half-truths, flawed logic and premature conclusions." According to McDade, the "only thing new and weird" in the 47-minute film is that the claim that video views of Earth were actually filmed through a small hole to give the impression that Apollo 11 was not in low Earth orbit. "Bart has misinterpreted things that are immediately obvious to anyone who has extensively read Apollo history and documentation or anyone who has ever been inside an Apollo Command Module or accurate mockup," says McDade.

Bart Sibrel

Legal troubles
In July 2009, Sibrel, who also works as a Nashville cab driver, was charged with vandalism when he jumped up and down on the hood of a car owned by a woman with whom he was having a parking dispute. Court documents show he was arrested after the driver refused to pull out of a parking space he wanted. The arresting officer wrote, "A few moments later, the parking space in front of the victim opened up and [Sibrel] drove into it and parked." Sibrel "then walked up to the victim's car and jumped onto the hood, and then jumped up and down several times." The report says he caused about $1,400 worth of damage, after which Sibrel pleaded guilty to vandalism and was placed on probation.[9]

Moon hoax documentary films

What Happened on the Moon?, David Percy/Aulis.com, 2000; Run time: 222 minutes. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon, January 18, 2001; Run time: 47 minutes Astronauts Gone Wild, June 14, 2004; Run time: 53 minutes Apollo 11 Monkey Business, December 9, 2004; Run time: 108 minutes Apollo 11 Post-Flight Press Conference, December 9, 2004; Run time: 83 minutes

References
[1] BBC News: Ex-astronaut escapes assault charge (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 1/ hi/ world/ americas/ 2272321. stm) date accessed: August 3, 2007 [2] (http:/ / www. csicop. org/ articles/ 20021018-aldrin/ ) [3] Richardson, Valerie (20 July 2009). "Skeptic spreads word of NASA folly" (http:/ / www. washingtontimes. com/ news/ 2009/ jul/ 20/ skeptic-spreads-word-of-folly/ ?page=2). The Washington Times: p.2. . Retrieved 2 July 2011. [4] B.W. Sibrel, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon 2002 (DVD) [5] B.W. Sibrel, 'The Top 10 Reasons Why No Man Has Ever Set Foot on the Moon' at Moonmove.com (http:/ / www. moonmovie. com/ moonmovie/ default. asp?ID=7) date accessed: August 3, 2007 [6] Bart Sibrel's Top Fifteen at Clavius (http:/ / www. clavius. org/ bibsibrel. html) date accessed: August 3, 2007 [7] B.W. Sibrel, 'The Top 10 Reasons Why No Man Has Ever Set Foot on the Moon' at Moonmovie.com (http:/ / www. moonmovie. com/ moonmovie/ default. asp?ID=7) date accessed: August 3, 2007 [8] Technology beating the Soviets at Clavius (http:/ / www. clavius. org/ techsoviet. html) The relevance of some of the Soviet "firsts" in relation to a landing of the moon has also been called into question. [9] NewsChannel5: Inside Story: Apollo Conspiracy Theorist Arrested After Tirade (http:/ / www. newschannel5. com/ Global/ story. asp?S=10799169) date accessed: June 22, 2010

External links
Bart Sibrel's website (http://www.sibrel.com) Bart Sibrel's documentaries at Moonmovie.com (http://www.moonmovie.com/) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=SKONhVl7Sr8) Badastronomy.com's coverage of the Fox special (http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html) Bart Sibrel's Top Fifteen at Clavius.org, a hoax debunking site (http://www.clavius.org/bibsibrel.html) Video of Buzz Aldrin punching Bart Sibrel (http://www.csicop.org/articles/20021018-aldrin/) A critique of Sibrel (http://www.thekeyboard.org.uk/Bart Sibrel.htm) Lunar Legacy - A documentary challenging Sibrel's hoax theories (http://www.vimeo.com/12760133) Pitch This! Interview with Bart Sibrel: (http://pitchthis.podbean.com/2011/07/20/ houston-do-we-have-a-problem/) by Mad Dug and Anthony Anderson July 20, 2011

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

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