Conspiracy theorists have claimed " time travel is real" after they spotted a woman holding a 'mobile phone' in the background of a Charlie Chaplin movie from 1928.
The black and white image of the 'time traveller' was taken from the comic's silent movie, The Circus.
In the shot, a woman dressed in a black top hat and white gloves can be seen walking around in the background of the set holding what seems to be a device in her hand, with many suggesting that she's holding a mobile phone.
Handheld mobile phones were not widely available until the 1980s, around 50 years after the Charlie Chaplin movie was released.
The Sun reports that Irish filmmaker George Clarke discovered the 'time traveller' in the 1928 movie back in 2010 before posting his findings to his Youtube channel.
In the video, which has since gathered nearly seven million views, the filmmaker 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."
A few days after George posted the Youtube video, conspiracy theorists began to offer their views on the 'time traveller' footage.
Some claimed that the woman was simply shielding her eyes from the Sun, while others argued that she was cupping her ear.
However, the Daily News soon shut down the conspiracies, stating that "while this fantastical theory is fun to ponder, in all likelihood the woman is actually using a hearing aid."
The outlet reports that the hearing device was invented during the 1920s - around the time The Circus was filmed.
Despite the conspiracy soon being shut down, this is not the first time a 'mobile phone' has been spotted before the device was invented.
Footage from 1938 also backed the theory that 'time travel is real', according to commentators.
In the film clip, a group of people were seen walking towards the camera, with one young woman standing out as she's holding something to the side of her head.
The woman in question was seen chatting as she walks in the crowd of people, with the 'device' clamped to the side of her head with one hand. She then seems to lower it before the film clip ends.
This has left conspiracy theorists questioning whether the woman was talking on a mobile phone, or whether she was holding another object to her ear.
Theorists then delved deeper into the claim, with one Youtube account stating that the woman in the footage was their great-grandmother, and she was in fact using a mobile phone.
According to YouTube user Planetcheck, the handheld device is an experimental wireless phone developed by industrial giant Dupont at its factory in Leominster, Massachusetts.
“The lady you see is my great-grandmother Gertrude Jones,” the user said.
“She was 17 years old. I asked her about this video and she remembers it quite clearly. She says Dupont had a telephone communications section in the factory.
“They were experimenting with wireless telephones. Gertrude and five other women were given these wireless phones to test out for a week.
“Gertrude is talking to one of the scientists holding another wireless phone who is off to her right as she walks by.”
