The Simpsons did not predict 2022 Canada Freedom Convoy
The Simpsons did not predict 2022 Canada Freedom Convoy
(Reuters) - Posts claiming that the animated series The Simpsons predicted the 2022 Freedom Convoys conducted by Canadian truck drivers are misleading. Claims feature an edited clip from two separate and unrelated episodes of the show.
A post from Facebook, seen (here) shows a clip of the show with the text caption: “The Simpsons-1999.” Additional miscaptioned videos from Facebook are reviewable (here) and (here).
The video depicts Homer and Bart Simpson driving down a highway in an 18-wheeler when Homer notices a convoy of semi-trucks approaching in one of the truck’s rear-view mirrors. In the next scene, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau scurries out of an open window walking on two hands as trucks approach the building.
Contrary to social media claims, the video clip is not a 1999 prediction of the 2022 Freedom Convoy but is the edited combination of footage from two separate episodes of the show.
The footage of Homer and Bart is from the 1999 episode, “Maximum Homerdrive” (here). The season 10, episode 17 story features Homer and Bart going on a cross-country delivery as truck drivers (here). The second clip which features an animated version of Trudeau having a Skype conversation with Lisa Simpson can be seen in the 2020-episode, “D’Oh Canada.” The original show aired on April 28, 2019, not 1999, as suggested by some users.
Two clips from the separate episodes were digitally altered to appear to show Trudeau escaping his office amidst the trucker protests and calls for the end of COVID-19 mask mandates in Canada.
Thousands took to the streets as part of the Freedom Convoy on Jan. 29, 2022, in Ottawa, Canada in protest of vaccine mandates and a vaccine requirement for cross-border drivers (here).
Reuters Fact Check has previously debunked claims that the Simpsons predicted certain events, such as the 2021 gas shortages (here) and the horned Trump protester who stormed the Capitol (here).
VERDICT
Altered. Claims that a 1999 episode of The Simpsons predicted the 2022 Freedom Convoys in Canada are false. The video seen in claims is the edited combination of two unrelated episodes of the show.
