No, The Simpsons did not predict the Canada truckers convoy

A clip being shared on social media was not taken from a single 1999 episode as claimed, but two separate episodes

Claims that The Simpsons “predicted” the Canada truckers convoy protest have been debunked.

In recent years, the animated series has been said to have predicted everything from Richard Branson’s zero-gravity space flight to Donald Trump’s presidency and the recent UK fuel shortage.

The latest news event which fans claim to have previously featured on The Simpsons involves current protests occurring in Canada.

The so-called “Freedom Convoy” has come in opposition to the introduction of a vaccine mandate for truck drivers crossing the border between the US and Canada, with thousands of protestors descending on Ottawa on Saturday (5 February).

As the protests took place, a clip began circulating on social media which appeared to show a similar situation play out on The Simpsons.

In it, Homer and Bart are driving a truck, with Homer saying: “Look son, it’s one of nature’s most beautiful sights – the convoy!”

Their truck is then surrounded by other trucks, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shouting: “They’re coming in through the back door” as he escapes out of his office window on his hands away from the approaching vehicles.

Uploaded to YouTube, the clip was said to be from a 1999 episode, but this was swiftly debunked by Reuters Fact Check, who confirmed that this was “misleading”.

“​​Contrary to social media claims, the video clip is not a 1999 prediction of the 2022 Freedom Convoy but is the edited combination of footage from two separate episodes of the show,” they wrote.

The first section of footage comes from the 1999 episode “Maximum Homerdrive”, while the part featuring Trudeau came from more recent 2020 episode.

You can find 14 of The Simpsons’ most uncanny “predictions” here.