Conspiracy theorists link Baltimore bridge to Netflix’s Leave the World Behind

The Baltimore bridge crash has led conspiracy theorists to link it to Netflix’s Leave the World Behind, produced by former president Barack Obama.

In the 2023 Netflix film Leave the World Behind — starring Julia Roberts and Ethan Hawke — the opening scene depicts a ship marooning on a beach, nearly harming a crowd of beachgoers. Shortly after, the US is the victim of a cyberattack, affecting all technology and day-to-day life.

After the events of this week’s Baltimore bridge crash, which involved a cargo ship, conspiracy theorists are linking the two together on TikTok.

The caption reads “In 2023, the Obamas produced a movie called Leave the World Behind, where a cyberattack caused a massive container ship to lose power and crash. Make it make sense…”

“My husband and I JUST watched this movie last week and this morning were like NO FREAKING WAYYYY,” one TikTik comment reads, with another stating “I just know that’s the next big thing. A cyberattack is coming.”

This isn’t the first time that Leave the World Behind has been linked to a conspiracy, with fans suggesting that the movie aligned with the AT&T power outage a few months ago.

However, other viewers think this is all a bit of a reach. “It was an accident, nothing more than a set of unfortunate events,” read another comment.

As of writing, six people are missing and presumed dead, though all 22 members aboard the ship that struck the bridge have been declared safe.

According to The Guardian, the same cargo ship was involved in a previous incident in Antwerp, Belgium, when it hit a quay as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal in 2016.

The bridge was reported to be in “fair condition” before the accident.

Learn more about Leave the World Behind’s ending, predictive programming, the meaning of the deer, alongside its filming locations. On top of that, find even more movies to stream this month.