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stated on January 23, 2023 in a Facebook post:

“The Simpsons” predicted money missing from Bank of America customers’ accounts in January.

False

Bank run in ‘The Simpsons’ episode didn’t foretell Bank of America account glitch

If your time is short

  • A video clip from an episode of "The Simpsons" was altered to change "First Bank of Springfield" to "Bank of America." 
 
See the sources for this fact-check

In January, some Bank of America customers reported money inexplicably missing from their accounts. The problem stemmed from transactions using Zelle — a digital payment network Bank of America co-owns —  that had been posted to the accounts but then disappeared. 

Bank of America later said the issue had been resolved, but not without angering U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who accused both the bank and Zelle of “failing customers again.” 

Should she have seen it coming, thanks to an episode of “The Simpsons?”

“The Simpsons did it again,” read text in a Jan. 23 Facebook post. It showed a video clip from the long-running animated show that opened with a shot of a building that says “Bank of America.”

In the clip, Bart Simpson walks into the bank, laughs, and says, “What do you mean the bank is out of money?”

Disguising his voice and running around the room, he then says, “Insolvent?” and then “You only have enough cash for the next three customers?”

The bank’s patrons then rush the bankers as the bank manager, sounding a lot like Jimmy Stewart in “It’s A Wonderful Life,” says, “I don’t have your money here.” 

A Facebook post sharing the clip was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

This clip is largely authentic from a 1995 Simpsons episode with one glaring exception: the building didn’t say “Bank of America” in the original. Rather, it was labeled “First Bank of Springfield” in which Bart causes a bank run. 

We rate claims that “The Simpsons” predicted a recent account problem at Bank of America False.

 
Our Sources

Facebook post, Jan. 23, 2023

IMDB, The Simpsons: The PTA Disbands, 1995

YouTube, The bank is out of money - The Simpsons, May 16, 2020

YouTube, It's A Wonderful Life Bank Run, Dec. 6, 2014

Elizabeth Warren tweet, Jan. 18, 2023

Zelle tweet, Jan. 18, 2023

NPR, Bank of America says the problem with Zelle transactions is resolved, Jan. 18, 2023

 

Bank run in ‘The Simpsons’ episode didn’t foretell Bank of America account glitch

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