87
/ 100
True
England
Doug Bower and Dave Chorley tricked the world into believing crop circles were made by mysterious forces, starting in 1978. They revealed the hoax in 1991 after many theories, including one published in Nature, suggested otherworldly causes.
Infact verdict: True (87/100).
The claims regarding Doug Bower and Dave Chorley's involvement in creating crop circles and their subsequent confession in 1991 are well-documented and supported by multiple credible sources. The evidence confirms that they started making crop circles in 1978 and revealed their hoax in 1991. Pat Delgado's book, which suggested extraterrestrial involvement, sold over 50,000 copies, but Delgado later admitted being fooled by the hoax. Additionally, a Japanese physicist published a theory in Nature about ball lightning related to crop circles, but this theory remains speculative. Overall, the claims are factual, with strong historical evidence supporting them.
October 30, 2026
Language: en_US
5 claims analyzed
How is this score determined? →
Multiple credible sources, including Britannica and the Los Angeles Times, confirm that Doug Bower and Dave Chorley confessed in 1991 to creating over 200 crop circles, tricking scientists and the public into believing they were caused by mysterious forces.
Fact Check Score
None
Fact Check Weight
0
Web Consensus Score
90
Web Consensus Weight
40
Source Quality Score
85
Source Quality Weight
20
Llm Reasoning Score
90
Llm Reasoning Weight
40
Llm Reasoning Score Raw
90
Weighted Total
93
Evidence Summary
3 web sources confirm the hoax by Bower and Chorley.
Evidence from Wikipedia and other sources confirms that Doug Bower and Dave Chorley began creating crop circles in 1978, inspired by earlier UFO reports.
Fact Check Score
None
Fact Check Weight
0
Web Consensus Score
85
Web Consensus Weight
40
Source Quality Score
80
Source Quality Weight
20
Llm Reasoning Score
85
Llm Reasoning Weight
40
Llm Reasoning Score Raw
85
Weighted Total
90
Evidence Summary
2 web sources confirm the start date of crop circle creation.
The book 'Circular Evidence' by Pat Delgado and Colin Andrews sold over 50,000 copies and suggested extraterrestrial involvement in crop circles. This is confirmed by multiple sources, including Amazon and historical accounts.
Fact Check Score
None
Fact Check Weight
0
Web Consensus Score
80
Web Consensus Weight
40
Source Quality Score
75
Source Quality Weight
20
Llm Reasoning Score
80
Llm Reasoning Weight
40
Llm Reasoning Score Raw
80
Weighted Total
88
Evidence Summary
2 web sources confirm the book's sales and content.
A Japanese physicist, Yoshi-Hiko Ohtsuki, published a theory in Nature suggesting ball lightning could create crop circles. While published, the theory remains speculative and not widely accepted as definitive.
Fact Check Score
None
Fact Check Weight
0
Web Consensus Score
70
Web Consensus Weight
40
Source Quality Score
65
Source Quality Weight
20
Llm Reasoning Score
70
Llm Reasoning Weight
40
Llm Reasoning Score Raw
70
Weighted Total
69
Evidence Summary
1 web source confirms the publication of the theory.
Multiple credible sources, including Britannica and CTV News, confirm that Doug Bower and Dave Chorley revealed their crop circle hoax in 1991.
Fact Check Score
None
Fact Check Weight
0
Web Consensus Score
95
Web Consensus Weight
40
Source Quality Score
90
Source Quality Weight
20
Llm Reasoning Score
95
Llm Reasoning Weight
40
Llm Reasoning Score Raw
95
Weighted Total
96
Evidence Summary
3 web sources confirm the 1991 revelation of the hoax.