Site for devil worship? No, video shows communications array in Australia | Fact check

The claim: Hexagon structure in Australia is for devil worship

An Aug. 26 Facebook post ( direct link , a rchive link ) shows a video of someone zooming in on an isolated location in Australia using Google Earth . The location includes a central building surrounded by dozens of lines that form a hexagon.

"SMELLS LIKE CONSPIRACY Guys What Are Your Thoughts⁉️" reads the post's caption, which includes the hashtags #DEVIL, #mystery and #devilworshippers.

The post was shared more than 300 times in 10 days.

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Our rating: False

The structure is part of a military communications station that has been in operation since the 1960s. There is no evidence it has anything to do with devil worship.

Communication array has been photographed for decades

The location the video focuses on isn’t a mystery. It is Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt , which sits on a peninsula between the Exmouth Gulf and the Indian Ocean.

The station opened in 1967 as U.S. Naval Communication Station North West Cape to enable the U.S. Navy to communicate with ships in the Pacific and Indian oceans – particularly submarines, according to the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability . The station transmits very low frequency – or VLF – signals which can be transmitted over long distances under water, according to Nautilus.

The station features an array of 13 towers supporting a web of wires spanning 400 hectares – about 1.5 square miles, according to a release from the Australian Defence Department . The Royal Australian Navy took over command of the station in 1992, and Defence has operated it on behalf of Australia and the U.S. since 2008 under an agreement.

There are no credible reports about any satanic activity occurring at the military site.

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The array, and particularly its towers, are well known and are even featured in a tourism guide . The Nautilus Institute’s page on the site includes several photos and maps of the installation. The location has grown to include more capabilities in recent years, including a space observation telescope relocated from the U.S. in 2022.

USA TODAY reached out to the social media user who shared the claim for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• Google Maps, accessed Sept. 4, Harold E. Holt Communication Station
• Australia Defence Ministers, Sept. 16, 2017, Australia and the United States celebrate 50 years for Naval Communication Station Harold E Holt
• Space Operations Command, Sept. 30, 2022, U.S. Space Surveillance Telescope in Australia achieves initial operational capability
• Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability, accessed Sept. 4, Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt (North West Cape)
• Lonely Planet, accessed Sept. 4, Harold E Holt Naval Communication Station

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Site for devil worship? No, video shows communications array in Australia | Fact check