The last few days have seen a rise in viral social media posts claiming to show the Chinese government launching an “artificial sun.”
This is not the first time this claim has gone viral; in September 2021, a video from YouTube account “Proven Facts” shared a video showing another supposed launch.
China does have a nuclear reactor called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) that has been referred to as China’s “artificial sun” because it is able to simulate the fusion reactions occurring within stars and reach incredibly high temperatures.
Alec Dent is a former culture editor and staff writer for The Dispatch.
