NASA debunks viral “doomsday eclipse” – No, the world won’t go dark on Aug. 2

A viral TikTok claims the world will go dark for six minutes on August 2 – but NASA says the “doomsday eclipse” is fake, and the real total solar blackout isn’t coming until 2027.

Social media has been awash recently with crazy rumours that the world is going to go dark for six minutes on August 2nd – there’s nothing new there as we’ve always been prone to dark whispers.

A lot could of course happen in that short time, operating systems could shut down, stocks could rocket or plummet, and a general sense of unease would ripple through the internet in real time.

The trouble is that they even got the bloody year wrong! It’s actually set to be August 2nd 2027 when a truly solar total eclipse will take over the skies.

NASA stepped in to clear things up, firmly debunking the rumor and explaining why the whole world can’t go dark all at once.

It’s been revealed that the moon will block out the sun for an incredible 6 minutes and 22 seconds, across 11 countries in North Africa and the middle east.

That’s a relatively narrow path, but at least the keenest sky-gazers have two years to plan their travel trajectories.

This is a typical bearing for a complete solar eclipse, so those fears of the whole planet being plunged into darkness are a little bit too Christoper Nolan.

@limitlessmind8888 A global portal opens August 2nd, 2025. The sun disappears for 6 minutes. This is your spiritual reboot. AI-enhanced visuals. Human voice. #LimitlessMind888 #solareclipse2025 #august2eclipse #cosmicshift #timelineactivation #awakeningjourney #spiritualtiktok #eclipseseason #aivisuals #tiktokai ♬ Peaceful Sincerity - Pemancing Biru

The rumour spread like wildfire thanks to TikTok’s favourite cocktail – apocalyptic claims, moody AI imagery, and absolutely no fact-checking in sight.

It’s a major headscratch that AI generated content can have us believe that in a couple of days time, we will all plunge into darkness.

It’s not that hard this time to clear this up, by doing some basic research of your own, you can cross reference with NASA or other, more reliable TikTok posts.

@dailymail

10 countries are set to fall into darkness under the longest total eclipse in 100 years for over 6 minutes. Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia will all fall into darkness when the eclipse arrives in August 2027. Read more on DailyMail.com

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The real 2027 eclipse will actually be a once-in-a-lifetime event, the longest of the 21st century – which makes the misinformation sting a bit, because the truth is already cool enough.

Some corners of the internet even tried tying it to end-of-days prophecies, because apparently no eclipse is complete without a sprinkle of apocalypse-core.

NASA’s calm, data-heavy response was basically the equivalent of telling the internet to put down the tinfoil hat and pick up a telescope.