10 Movies That Eerily Predicted Things In Real Life
6. The Clinton-Lewsinsky Scandal & The Rise Of "Fake News" - Wag The Dog
The Movie
Barry Levinson's political satire documents a sex scandal involving the President of the United States (Michael Belson), and the attempts of a top spin doctor (Robert De Niro) and Hollywood producer (Dustin Hoffman) to create a fictional war to distract from the POTUS' transgression.
How It Predicted Reality
A month after the film's December 1997 release, allegations came to light of President Bill Clinton's improper sexual conduct with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, inciting a relentless media frenzy and leading to his eventual impeachment at the end of 1998.
However, just a week after the scandal broke, Clinton's administration bombed a Sudanese pharmaceutical factory which they claimed was being used to manufacture a dangerous nerve agent, killing one employee and injuring a further eleven in the process.
The bombing was widely interpreted to be a "wag the dog" moment, to distract from Clinton's personal foibles, while it was later confirmed that the intel on the facility wasn't solid.
The film can also be said to have predicted the recent rise of misinformation ("fake news"), as evidenced by Donald Trump using social media to create his own reality distinct from, well, the truth of his incompetence.
Tellingly, Levinson and Robert De Niro are currently developing a Wag the Dog TV series for HBO, which will examine the original premise through the lens of contemporary politics and technology.