‘The Simpsons’ Did Not Predict Nuclear Warfare in Ukraine
The Claim
A collage of images from “The Simpsons” proves that the show predicted the invasion of Ukraine and nuclear warfare, which would start on March 5, 2022.
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Emerging story
Social media users all over the world are sharing a collage of images from “The Simpsons” that allegedly predicted the invasion of Ukraine and the impending use of nuclear weapons.
Misbar’s Analysis
The photo of a soldier pointing a rifle at President Putin has been altered digitally. During the investigation, Misbar's team discovered that the original photo of a soldier was taken from the episode "Mad About the Toy," which aired in 2019. The plot of the episode proved to be completely unrelated to Ukraine.
The Simpsons are inspired to investigate their Grampa's past as a toy model for plastic army men after WWII in the episode.
The rifle in the original soldier photo did not have a date written on it. Homer holding the Ukrainian flag, as well as President Putin, were digitally added to the photo.
The digitally altered image added the Ukrainian flag to the soldier's military uniform, as well as the date 2022 on the rifle.
Both Putin and Homer are snipped out of different episodes.
The image of Homer was originally from Episode 8 “Th Italian Bob”, of season 17, which aired in 2005. Homer was originally carrying the U.S. flag as can be seen below.
The image of Vladimir Putin was also taken from a different episode and altered. The original image was from the Episode “Homer Votes,” which aired in 2016. Putin is seen wearing a Red Sox t-shirt.
The photo of the explosion, which is alleged to predict nuclear warfare in Ukraine, is taken from the episode entitled “To Surveil With Love," which aired in 2010. Mibsar's team investigated the claim by analyzing the synopsis of the episode and found that it has no mention of Ukraine.
The photo of the explosion has also been linked to other conspiracy theories claiming that “The Simpsons” predicts future events. In 2020, the photo was claimed to prove that the show predicted the Beirut explosion.
During the team's investigation, the original photo of the nuclear bomb was found. It is a tapped-out image of a bomb, which facilitates superimposing it digitally.
“The Simpsons” have posted a photo in solidarity with Ukraine via their Twitter account, as can be seen below.
Al Jean, the showrunner of “The Simpsons” had tweeted that the Ukrainian crisis was not hard to predict.
“The Simpsons” has become a staple for conspiracy theorists over the years, in an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Al Jean comments: "There is the kind of prediction, where we reference something that has happened, happening again — we hope it wouldn’t, but sadly, it does.”
Misbar has debunked several other claims related to “The Simpsons” being a predictive TV show.
