Did ‘The Simpsons’ Predict the Use of Directed Energy Weapons (DEW)?

Thanks to the proliferation of an outlandish conspiracy theory holding that the deadly and destructive August 2023 Maui wildfires were purposely started by means of a military weapon known as a “directed energy weapon” (“DEW” for short), a new entry in the canon of supposed “predictions” made by writers of the animated TV series “The Simpsons” was born. Social media users circulated an alleged excerpt of a “Simpsons” episode that they claimed predicted the use of such a weapon on a civilian populace. This example was reposted on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) after it first appeared on TikTok: 

The Simpson predicting Direct Energy Weapons (DEW)

Looks very similar to what happened in Maui pic.twitter.com/osUQx2pM3Q

— Vision4theBlind (@Vision4theBlind) August 15, 2023

But although the video clip was real, the characterization of it as representing or predicting a “directed energy weapon” was pure fancy. (Note that the edited, decontextualized clip above only shows a destructive beam of light wreaking havoc with no explanation.) What actually happened in the 2016 episode of “The Simpsons” titled “Monty Burns’ Fleeing Circus” was that a newly erected chrome statue in downtown Springfield unexpectedly acted as a mirror, focusing the sun’s rays into an intense beam that then destroys most of the town. It was not represented as a military weapon, much less a “directed energy weapon.”

Here’s what that scene looked like in full, courtesy of the Daily Simpsons YouTube channel: 

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In short, the content of the episode was misrepresented in the interests of promulgating a conspiracy theory that bears scant resemblance either to the script of the episode or to real-world events. Get back to us when a real-life chrome statue is erected somewhere that destroys a town by reflecting and concentrating the sun’s rays on the landscape and we’ll consider revising our fact-check rating, which currently stands as False.

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