'The Simpsons' image showing bridge collapse is fabrication, not from show | Fact check
The claim: Image shows 'The Simpsons' predicted ship crashing into Francis Scott Key bridge
A March 27 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a picture of characters from “The Simpsons” looking at a cargo ship crashing into a bridge.
"The Simpsons tho – undefeated" reads text included in the post.
The post was liked more than 7,000 times in six days.
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Our rating: Altered
The image is fabricated, possibly with generative AI. It is not from any episode of "The Simpsons." The show did not predict a ship crashing into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, according to one of the showrunners behind the series.
Simpsons showrunner debunks claim on social media
The animated series"The Simpsons" has often been credited with predicting historical events, but those claims are often wrong. Such is the case with the claim that the show predicted the Match 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Matt Selman, a co-showrunner for "The Simpsons," addressed the claim in a March 28 post on X, formerly Twitter, in which he reposted the viral image with the following caption:
“Sadly #TheSimpsons ‘predictions’ are now meaningless. People so desperately want to believe in the show's 'magic powers' – or are just very lazy – that they ignore that obviously fake images of the so-called predictions cannot be traced to any actual episode – like this nonsense.”
As Selman says, there is no Simpsons episode with a storyline matching the image in the post or the Baltimore bridge collapse.
Hive Moderation, an AI detection tool, rated the image as 100% likely to be AI-generated.
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There are also other signs of fabrication. Original drawings show the character of Lisa Simpson has eight points in her hair, but the Instagram image shows her with 10. Her father Homer also appears to have more points in his hair in the Instagram image than what is typical in the show.
Walter Scheirer, a professor of engineering at Notre Dame University whose research is primarily focused on the problem of recognition, told USA TODAY that it’s likely the cartoon was created with a “generative AI model.”
“There are noticeable problems with the cartoon that would typically not be present in a human-drawn illustration,” Scheirer said. “For instance, the character in the lower left is missing pupils in his eyes. Further, the various objects in the scene are poorly rendered, too small or simply too abstract to interpret. These are all characteristic artifacts of an AI-generated image.
USA TODAY has previously debunked false claims that "The Simpsons" have predicted events such as a solar superstorm in 2024, the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, a claim which used an altered clip to make it appear as if the prediction happened.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Our fact-check sources:
Walter Scheirer, March 29, Email exchange with USA TODAY
Michelle Johnson, March 29, Email exchange with USA TODAY
@mattselman, March 28, X post
Hive Moderation, March 29, Fabricated image of The Simpsons
Simpsons Wiki, accessed April 1, Lisa Simpson
The Simpsons, May 8, 2013, Facebook post
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The Simpsons did not predict cargo ship, Key Bridge crash | Fact check