In recent days, a video of the animated series "The Simpsons" was published on social media, claiming that this series predicted a global shutdown on November 17, 2026, equal to November 17, 1,405. According to this claim, at the same time the power grids, the Internet and the communication around the world will be disrupted.
The claim stems from a misinterpretation of the plot of an old episode of The Simpsons.
The photos are related to the seventh episode of the thirty-fifth season, titled "It's a Stupid Life," which aired on November 19, 1402. In this episode, Lisa Simpson recalls the memory of a power outage in the fictional town of Springfield, some 60 years in the future. In one of the scenes we see the date November 17 in his diary. The blackout in the story is limited to Springfield and there is no reference to a global crisis in 2026 or a global blackout.
In America, a trial is scheduled for November 17. According to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will test the Emergency Alert System (EAS) nationwide at 2:20 PM EST. The goal is to measure the performance of radio and television networks in sending warnings. According to the official notification, people should not act and if necessary, the examination will be postponed to December 3. This program is limited to the US Warning System and has nothing to do with power or internet outages.
Since December 3, a widespread disruption of Microsoft services, including Outlook and Teams, has affected some of the communication and management activities of companies and organizations in several countries. Microsoft announced the cause of the disruption to a technical problem in the server infrastructure and denied its connection to a cyber attack or artificial intelligence. Some users on social networks also linked this event to the story of "The Simpsons".
Technically, different countries and regions supply their electricity from different grids and generation sources, and there is no integrated electricity grid on a global scale.
The similarity of some of the "Simpsons" stories to events that happened later helped to spread such narratives.