--- title: "Neil deGrasse Tyson Says He Never Tweeted This Thing That He Definitely Tweeted" description: "Disgraced astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is trying to claim that one of his old tweets was doctored — but he's either wrong, or lying. " date: "2023-01-05" modified: "2023-01-05" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/neil-degrasse-tyson-interstellar-tweet" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "NASA" - "neil degrasse tyson" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Neil deGrasse Tyson Says He Never Tweeted This Thing That He Definitely Tweeted ![Disgraced astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson is trying to claim that one of his old tweets was doctored — but he's either wrong, or lying. ]() *\Image: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images\* ## Space Jam In an attempt at a dunk, [boorish]() and [allegation-laden]() astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tried to claim that one of his old tweets was doctored — but as it turns out, he's either wrong or lying, because the old tweet is definitely still up. Last October, the Twitter account run by space journalist [Keith Cowing tweeted about]() a nearly decade-old post Tyson made: a classic NDG-style gripe about a scene in the 2014 sci fi film "Interstellar" in which a truck drives over a bunch of flattened corn stalks with a flat tire. "Mysteries of Interstellar: How a pickup truck can drive with a flat tire among densely planted corn stalks taller than it," [Tyson tweeted]() back when the movie came out. In the October tweet, [Cowing called it]() one of his "all time favorite" tweets from the Museum of Natural History scholar. For some reason, Tyson chose to respond to NASA Watch this week — and even more bizarrely, claimed that post, which was featured in a screenshot alongside a still from the film of the scene, was fake. "Dear NASAWatch, Next time, please confirm that the Tweet your are critiquing is real, which in this case is not, through it's hilarious," [he tweeted](). "Also, before you rush to take sides in an argument, try to verify that you take the side of objective truths." "Just saying," Tyson added with his classic tongue-in-cheek aplomb. ## Hashtag #Jussayin Not one to be dunked upon, apparently, Cowing then responded to the astrophysicist with his own "just sayin'"-ass retort. "Uh FYI," he wrote [from his @NASAWatch accoun]()t, "the \[Interstellar\] tweet I cited in 2022 was indeed posted by you back in 2014." To be fair, the space journalist also got a key part of the mini-debacle wrong, too: he claimed that Tyson had deleted it, but in fact, as of press time, [the tweet was still up]() (and it's also [archived it on the Wayback Machine]() just in case he decides to actually delete it.) So there you have it, folks. Either NDG is becoming forgetful as he ages, or he's lying about his old tweets. Either way, it's fun to watch a low-stakes Twitter spat — [especially in this economy](). **More on the hellsite:** [*Twitter Suspends Multiple Space Journalists For Posting Rockets*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()