On August 15, 2023, Georgian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2, 3) shared footage from the cartoon “The Simpsons,” in which the entire city is seen on fire. According to one of the authors, this is a foreshadowing by the Simpsons showing a directed energy weapon to cause a fire in Hawaii.
The widely circulated posts contain video manipulation, and the claim that the Simpsons predicted the Hawaii fires caused by directed energy weapons is false. In fact, the episode used as an argument to substantiate the claim, a chrome statue reflects the sun’s rays, causing the city to catch fire. In the extended section, only the fire-causing beam is visible, and the part in which the statue is also visible is cut out. It is also worth noting that in the episode, the beam is not labeled as a directed energy weapon.
The disseminated footage was cut from the first episode of season 28 (Monty Burns’ Fleeing Circus) released in 2016. According to the script, a new chrome statue is erected in downtown Springfield, which later acts as a mirror for the sun’s rays, turning them into one intense beam and setting the entire city on fire. In the series, this beam is not presented as a weapon, including a “directed energy weapon.” It should be noted that in the distributed section, it is not seen at all that the ray that starts a fire in the city is reflected from the newly erected statue; the video only shows the part when the fire starts in the city, and everything is destroyed.
The mentioned video was also verified by the American fact-checking agency Snopes.
A number of conspiracy theories have been spread about the causes of the forest fires that emerged on the Hawaiian island of Maui on August 8. One of them is related to “directed energy weapons (DEWs).” According to the official version, the fires in Hawaii were caused by extremely high temperatures, dry, hot, and windy weather. Hawaii Department of Defense spokesperson Jeff Hickman told USA TODAY that the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but there is no truth to the claim that an energy weapon was involved.
A Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) uses concentrated electromagnetic energy to fire at the speed of light and can destroy enemy targets. Different types of energy weapons use distinct regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as radio waves and microwaves.
For more information about other so-called prophecies by the Simpsons, see “Myth Detector” articles:
Did The Simpsons Predict the Notre Dame Fire or the Syrian Civil War? (in Georgian)
Did the Simpsons Predict the War in Ukraine?
Did The Simpsons Predict the Explosion in Beirut? (in Georgian)
About the Sources:
Facebook users who disseminated conspiracies about The Simpsons and Hawaii have published disinformation and conspiracy posts many times before, which were debunked by “Myth Detector”:
Tamuna Tamo:
- Where did the conspiracy about Justin Trudeau being the son of Fidel Castro come from?
- Did Mel Gibson Call Hollywood a Cannibal Shelter? (in Georgian)
Fantina Fantina:
- Conspiracies about the Child Trafficking by the Global Elite
- What Does the Painting of the Virgin Mary Gifted to the Pope by Zelenskyy Represent?
Nika Koberidze:
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