Wake up sheeple! The Four Horsemen are approaching! And they’re bringing doom lest we subscribe to the New World Order and join forces with the lizard people. Or, at least that’s what QAnon wants us to believe in the latest conspiracy theory to infiltrate the web.

In recent days, a conspiracy that “something big” is about to happen on September 24 has taken over both alt-right forums and mainstream platforms such as TikTok in recent weeks. Although there’s absolutely no proof to back this up, the date has become subject to baseless online theories speculating about the end times.

The rampant online speculation began on German QAnon channels on Telegram earlier this month when followers began circulating a video of Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party, giving a speech about the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

In his speech, Merz misspeaks and says that everyone will remember where they were on September 24, rather than February 24, the day of the invasion. Merz corrected himself in the official record of the Bundestag, but this hasn’t stopped countless QAnon followers, apocalyptic conspiracy theorists, and TikTok users from sharing sensationalist theories surrounding the date.

According to Vice, the reason the date is significant hinges on the fact that The Simpsons’ ninth episode in its 24th season is about a group of preppers readying for the end times. The episode also features an electromagnetic pulse device, which QAnon followers believe will bring “mass cyberattacks” and the beginning of “ten days of darkness”. 

There’s no denying that The Simpsons has made some spookily accurate predictions in the past – most notably the election of Trump as president – but, then again, the show has aired for 35 years, so there’s bound to be some overlap with reality.

But this hasn’t stopped people from spreading wild claims about the otherwise inconsequential day, ranging from nuclear armageddon to the reelection of Trump, to a huge solar flare.

Last weekend, a conspiracist at the Reawaken America conference told audiences that “the day of vengeance” was a week away, adding: “We’re going to watch it happen.” Similar claims can be heard on Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform. 

Given the lack of evidence, it’s highly unlikely that anything remotely out of the ordinary will go down on Saturday. The claim of “something big” coming is no less weighty than a DJ announcing a new mixtape, or a hypebeast unveiling their latest drop. While the idea of America collapsing under the deep state, or crazy-eyed preppers anticipating doomsday is certainly amusing, September 24 is just another day, so please, just enjoy your weekend.