Footage from The Simpsons was edited to look like the show predicted Canada’s Covid truckers protest
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on February 1, 2022 at 14:48
- Updated on March 4, 2022 at 20:11
- 2 min read
- By James OKONG'O, AFP South Africa
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The video has been shared more than 1,200 times since it was posted on Facebook on January 28, 2022.
“The Simpsons predicting Trudeau’s escape as the truckers arrive,” the post reads, referring to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The clip was also posted here, here, and here in the US where it has been shared thousands of times.
Hundreds of truckers in Canada protested against the country’s Covid-19 vaccine mandates required to cross the US border in January 2022, as AFP reported.
Both Canada and the US imposed mandatory vaccinations for truck drivers in mid-January 2022.
But The Simpsons did not predict the protest, dubbed “Freedom convoy”.
Altered clip
By conducting a reverse image search, AFP Fact Check found that the video has been digitally altered by merging scenes from two separate episodes.
The first video featuring Homer and Bart driving a truck comes from episode 17 of the show’s 10th season. In the original clip, the truck convoy is not part of any protest. The truckers are merely upset with one of the characters because he revealed their “auto-drive” secret.
The clip featuring Trudeau comes from episode 21 of the show’s 30th season dubbed “D’oh Canada”. In the original footage, Trudeau does not flee a convoy of truckers.
Rather, he meets Bart’s sister Lisa on a video call and performs various feats of strength. But he climbs out of a window and scurries down the building when Lisa asks him about a real-life political scandal.
The original audio in the Trudeau clip does not have him screaming as he exits the building.
AFP Fact Check previously debunked claims that earlier episodes of the Simpsons predicted Covid-19 vaccine rollouts, George Floyd protests, and the coronavirus outbreak.
March 4, 2022 This article has been updated to add metadata.
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