claim: "The Simpsons" depicted that President Donald Trump would touch a glowing orb fifteen years before he actually did so during a trip to the Middle East.
origin: If you pay attention to the steady stream of rumorsÂ thatÂ â€œThe Simpsonsâ€ has predicted real-world events, you might getÂ the impression that the Fox Broadcasting Company employs fortune tellers and time-travelers to pen the long-running animated show. However, many of these rumors have a pretty simple explanation: The show was spoofing a previous event, not predicting one that had yet to occur. That was the case in June 2017 when an image purportedly comparing a screenshot from a 15-year-old episode ofÂ â€œThe Simpsonsâ€ with a May 2017 photograph of President Trump touching a glowing orb wasÂ sharedÂ thousands ofÂ times on Facebook: < This Simpsons cartoon aired 15 years ago in 2002 the actual photo was taken last monthâ€¦somebody explain this shit to me. > Both â€œThe Simpsonsâ€ screenshot and the photograph of Trump touching a glowing orb are authentic, but the Facebook post gets the timeline wrong. The photograph shows President Trump, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi at the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in May 2017. However, â€œThe Simpsonsâ€ imageÂ is not from a 2002 episode; rather, the screenshot comes from a short video posted to â€œThe Simpsonsâ€ Facebook page on 26 May 2017 â€”Â after Trumpâ€™s visit to Saudi Arabia. The â€œpictureâ€ can be seen on a wall leading up to the office of Vice President Mike Pence at the 6 second mark of the following video: