(RepublicanNews.org) – Every so often, a notable event occurs that mirrors something on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons and leads to rumors that the show predicts the future. The latest rumor is that the show predicted the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, but showrunner Matt Selman is slapping down those rumors.
After the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on July 13th, rumors immediately spread like wildfire from social media users who claimed that The Simpsons predicted the event, a common theory discussed online. Selman quickly slapped down those rumors as “disinformation.”
The Simpsons is America’s longest-running animated series and longest-running sitcom. After over three decades and 768 episodes satirizing American life and politics, the show is bound to hit a few bullseye predictions from the writers’ imaginations – a similar phenomenon is common in science fiction when it comes to predicting technological developments later made reality. The Simpsons have made similar predictions, such as the character Lisa making a video phone call in a 1995 episode.
Shortly after the shooting, a cartoon image of Trump in the animation style of The Simpsons, which showed him lying in a casket, began circulating social media along with claims by users that the show predicted the assassination attempt. Longtime showrunner Matt Selman responded to these rumors, stating the image was fake and the event never occurred in the show.
Selman called the rumors a “sad phenomenon” and a “by-product” of the “Age of Disinformation” and its “terrifying nature.” He said it “boggles” his mind that an “anonymous internet rascal” could create images that are “obviously fake” and that so many were ready to believe the images to be real.
Selman said that anyone who thinks a family show like The Simpsons “would include such horrifying content” must not watch the show or understand it. He spoke to reporters from Daily Mail and Reuters, confirming that the image of Trump lying in a coffin “never appeared” on the show and was “doctored.”
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