CONSPIRACY theorists believe that a bizarre feature in a Charlie Chaplin film is “proof” that time travellers live among us.
The black and white grab taken from the 1928 silent film The Circus appears to show a lady walking around the set.
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But the scene aroused interest on social media after film buffs spotted a detail that seemed incredibly out of place.
In the grab, a woman dressed all in black and wearing a hat appears to be holding something in her hand.
And the picture sparked rumours among time-travel believers that the actress was clutching a mobile phone to her ear.
Irish filmmaker, George Clarke, first made the discovery in 2010 and posted his findings on YouTube.
In his analysis, which has since gained over six million views, he explained: “If you look carefully, she’s talking on a thin, black device that is held to her ear.
“If you notice also that the knuckles are bent in the flat shape of a phone.
“The phone is to the ear. It’s not an ear trumpet. It is not an AM/FM radio, obviously because it’s 1928.
“Technically, there’s nothing that can explain [what] is in her hand… It’s clear she’s talking. She’s on her own. She’s talking into the device.”
In the days after Clarke posted the footage, thousands of YouTube commenters offered up their theories on the so-called “time traveller.”
Some commenters suggested that the woman was holding up her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
While others simply believed the woman was just talking to herself or cupping her ear.
But the Daily News later shut down speculation, concluding that “while this fantastical theory is fun to ponder, in all likelihood the woman is actually using a hearing aid.”
According to the outlet the hearing aid was invented in 1920s, and was available to the public at the time of the film’s production.
Photographs from the past are often seized upon as “proof” of time travel.
Recently, conspiracists spotted a man “clutching a mobile phone” in a 1940s photo.
The picture, taken on a beach in Cornwall in September 1943, shows a man in a brown suit looking at an item in his hands that looks suspiciously like a mobile phone.
But sceptics were quick to pour scorn on the conspiracy, insisting the man was simply rolling a cigarette.
Other historic images have also caused a stir among time travel believers in recent weeks.
Bonkers theories started to swirl regarding an ancient Greek tombstone after people spotted a woman using a laptop.
They claimed it was proof that a time traveller took a portable computer back to when the marble relief was sculpted in 100BC.
It came after art fans were baffled at a woman “holding an iPhone” in a painting from the 1860s.
Another man was spotted thumbing what looks like an iPhone in a 1930s mural of a scene from 17th-century New England.
And Apple boss Tim Cook joked he had found one of his firm’s gadgets in a 350-year-old masterpiece in Amsterdam.
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