The Simpsons Did Not Predict the Los Angeles Wildfires

26 January, 2025 1:40 pm

A horrific wildfire that began in Los Angeles, USA, on January 8 has gone viral on social media due to a video claiming that the popular American animated television series The Simpsons predicted this event.

The video begins with a scene depicting a modern city, followed by fire rapidly approaching it. In the next scene, members of the Simpson family open their door, only to find themselves standing before a fire-devastated Springfield. The scene concludes with a famous landmark in the city burning down.

The video ends with a comparison between the wildfire in Los Angeles and a shot of the famous Hollywood sign burning, suggesting a connection.

See some of the Facebook posts making these claims here (archived version), here (archived version), here (archived version), and here (archived version).

Fact-Check

Rumor Scanner’s team of investigators found that the claim about The Simpsons predicting the Los Angeles wildfire is false. In reality, the viral video was created by editing clips from different episodes of the series.

The scene of fire approaching the city, shown at the beginning of the video, was identified through reverse image search and traced to a YouTube clip. This clip originates from The Simpsons Season 18, Episode 12, titled Little Big Girl, which aired on February 11, 2007. In this episode, a massive fire engulfs the fictional city of Springfield, caused by a corn cob pipe fire. Bart inadvertently extinguishes the blaze using a school fire extinguisher attached to a wagon. As Bart speeds through the city, the foam from the extinguisher douses the flames, ultimately making him a local hero.

The scene of the Simpson family opening their door to find the city ablaze was identified through reverse image search and traced to a YouTube clip. The clip originates from The Simpsons Season 10, Episode 18, titled Simpsons Bible Stories. In this episode (source 1, source 2), the Simpson family wakes up in church to discover that Judgment Day has begun. The sky turns red, fire rains down, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride through Springfield. This sequence is a satirical depiction of “The Last Judgment” as described in the Bible.

The scene of Springfield’s famous sign burning was identified through reverse image search. It originates from The Simpsons Season 13, Episode 22, titled Poppa’s Got a Brand New Badge. In this episode, a citywide blackout causes Springfield to descend into chaos. To restore order, Homer Simpson establishes a private police force. Amid the disorder, the iconic Springfield sign is damaged, symbolizing the unrest in the city.

In summary, the viral video was fabricated by combining clips from three distinct episodes of The Simpsons across different seasons.

Furthermore, the final segment of the video, which depicts the Hollywood sign burning, is entirely baseless. No reports have indicated that the Hollywood sign caught fire during the wildfire. This particular claim originated from AI-generated images and videos circulating online. Multiple fact-checking organizations, including Rumor Scanner, have verified and confirmed this claim to be false.

Therefore, the claim circulating on social media that The Simpsons predicted the recent wildfire in Los Angeles is false.