You read that right. A spokesperson for NASA recently went on the record to deny a conspiracy theory that Mars is populated by children who were kidnapped and now serve as slaves.

Guy Webster, a spokesperson for Mars exploration at NASA, responded with the facts about Mars.

There are no humans on Mars. There are active rovers on Mars. There was a rumor going around last week that there werent. There are But there are no humans.

Where did this ridiculous notion come from? It might not surprise many of you to find out it was popularized by an episode of The Alex Jones Show. A guest on the show, Robert David Steele, recently said he believes NASA operates colonies filled with kidnapped child slaves.

We actually believe that there is a colony on Mars that is populated by children who were kidnapped and sent into space on a 20-year ride So that once they get to Mars they have no alternative but to be slaves on the Mars colony.

Jones, who is known for spreading conspiracy theories without any supporting evidence (Pizzagate, anyone?), weighed in with his own thoughts on NASA.

90 percent of the NASA missions are secret and Ive been told by high level NASA engineers that you have no idea Clearly they dont want us looking into what is happening Every time probes go over they turn them off I dont about Mars bases But I know theyve created massive thousands of different types of chimeras that are alien life forms on this earth now.

This isnt the first Mars colonization conspiracy theory Ive seen (although the child slavery part might be new), but I think its the first time a NASA representative has given one enough credence to respond. I wonder if the believers will accept the official story, or continue undeterred in their irrationality?

The most important part of all this is that neither Jones nor Steele ever provided a shred of evidence for the ludicrous and offensive allegations. This urban legend made it all the way to the mainstream, and into the mouth of a NASA spokesman, without any supporting data.

People spread ideas when they are interested in them, without regard to whether or not there is a good reason to believe, and thats the real problem. We can help stop this spread of harmful disinformation by consistently asking for evidence and sharing legitimate research.

Read more:

Child Slaves on Mars? NASA Debunks InfoWars Conspiracy Theory - Patheos (blog)