What is the Mandela Effect?

The Mandela Effect refers to a phenomenon where large groups of people remember an event or detail differently from how it appears in the current timeline. The term was coined in 2010 by paranormal researcher Fiona Broome after discovering that many people, including herself, remembered Nelson Mandela dying in the 1980s while in prison. In reality, according to mainstream records, he passed away in 2013. Since then, a multitude of such memory discrepancies have surfaced across pop culture, logos, historical events, and even anatomy—leading to speculation about alternate timelines or simulated realities.

As a metaphysical researcher focused on Simulation Theory, also known as the “Matrix” concept, I offer this exploration into the Mandela Effect as evidence of deeper metaphysical mechanisms, possibly involving artificial intelligence and the manipulation of perceived reality. To be specific, there are inconsistencies in what appears to be two clearly distinct timelines or versions of reality that are placed before us. In this effect, logos, people’s deaths, artefacts, music, videos, science, literature have changed or been swapped (much like deep-fake AI technology) in very minute and specific ways in a few isolated cases that are very distinct and catch attention.

Some examples are as follows:

Examples of the Mandela Effect

1. Celebrities & Public Figures

• Nelson Mandela: Many remember him dying in prison during the 1980s. In reality, he died in 2013 after being released in 1990.
• Neil Armstrong: Passed away in 2012, though some have no memory of this event.
• Patrick Swayze: Some believe he recovered from cancer, though records confirm he died in 2009.
• Mother Teresa: Canonized in 2016, but some recall her being declared a saint much earlier, even during the 1990s.

2. Logos & Brands

• Fruit of the Loom: Widely remembered with a cornucopia, which no longer exists in the current logo.
• Coca-Cola: Debate over whether it had a hyphen (Coca-Cola), wave, or dot separator. Now appears with a small dash or apostrophe.
• Kit Kat: Some remember a dash between the words (Kit-Kat), but it never existed officially.
• Volkswagen (VW): Recalled as a joined “V” and “W”, but now has a distinct gap.
• Monopoly: The Monopoly man no longer has a monocle, though many remember it vividly.
• Cup Noodles: Many recall it as “Cuppa Noodles”, including references in media like Sex and the City.
• Maggi vs. Maggie: The brand is officially “Maggi”, but some recall it as “Maggie” in older packaging or ads.
• Skechers vs. Sketchers – Many people remember the shoe brand as “Sketchers” with a “T”, but it has always been officially “Skechers”.
• Febreze vs. Febreeze – The air freshener is officially spelled “Febreze”, but many remember “Febreeze” with two E’s, possibly due to the common spelling of “breeze”.
• Oscar Mayer vs. Oscar Meyer – Many recall “Oscar Meyer” with an “e”, especially because of the famous jingle, but it’s officially “Oscar Mayer”.

3. Media, Films, Cartoons & Fiction

• Sex and the City is remembered as Sex in the City by many.
• Curious George: Once had a tail; now he doesn’t.
• Pikachu: Tip of the tail was black in many recollections, now entirely yellow.
• Hannibal Lecter: “Hello, Clarice” is remembered, but now he says “Good evening.”
• Star Wars: “Luke, I am your father” is now “No, I am your father.”
• Casablanca: The line “Play it again, Sam” has changed to “Play it.”
• Star Trek: “Beam me up, Scotty” doesn’t exist in exact words.
• Mickey Mouse: Remembered with suspenders, now has only red pants.
• Looney Tunes: Formerly remembered as Looney Toons.
• Shazaam: Allegedly starred Sinbad as a genie; never existed. The film Kazaam starred Shaquille O’Neal.
• Forrest Gump: “Life is like a box of chocolates…” is now “Life was like a box of chocolates.”
• Shehenshah (Hindi film): Line “Rishte mein toh hum tumhare baap hote hain” is now “…baap lagte hain.”
• Snow White: “Mirror, mirror on the wall” is now “Magic mirror on the wall.”
• Berenstein Bears: Now spelled Berenstain Bears, conflicting with many childhood memories.
• “If you build it, they will come” – From Field of Dreams, is now “If you build it, he will come”.
• C-3PO’s Leg – In Star Wars, many are surprised to learn that C-3PO has one silver leg in the original trilogy, rather than being entirely gold.
• “We’re gonna need a bigger boat” – Commonly quoted as “You’re gonna need a bigger boat” from Jaws, though the original is “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”.
• Interview with A Vampire vs. The Vampire – The Anne Rice novel and film are now titled Interview with the Vampire, but some remember it as Interview with a Vampire.
• “Run you fools!” vs. “Fly you fools!” – In Lord of the Rings, Gandalf says “Fly, you fools!”, though many recall it as “Run”.
• “The Lion shall lie down with the lamb” – A Bible verse commonly remembered this way, but the current versions usually read “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb” (Isaiah 11:6).

4. Music, Lyrics, Videos

• Britney Spears: In Oops!… I Did It Again, her iconic microphone is missing in the current version.
• Britney’s Skirt: “…Baby One More Time” featured a plaid skirt, now appears solid black in some versions.
• Oasis: “…that I’m gonna throw it back to you” is now “…that they’re gonna throw it back to you.”
• Jewel: “Who will save your soul” now appears as “Who will save your souls.”
• Queen: “We are the champions… of the world” is missing from the studio version’s ending.
• Bohemian Rhapsody: “Can you do the fandango?” has changed to “Will you do the fandango?”
• Pink Floyd: The phrase “It’s just another brick in the wall” is now “You’re just another brick…”
• Marilyn Manson: “Who am I to disagree” is now “You and I may disagree.”
• Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise: “Been spending most my life…” is now “most their lives…”
• Barbie Girl: Lyrics changed from “in a Barbie world” to “in the Barbie world.”
• How Deep Is Your Love: “I really need to know” is now “I really mean to learn.”

5. Culture, Geography, Artifacts

• Great Wall of India: Previously less known or referred to simply as a fortress wall, now labeled as such.
• India’s National Sport: Once widely believed to be Hockey or Kabaddi, though not officially declared.
• Sri Lanka: Seems geographically shifted from its earlier remembered position.
• New Zealand: Once recalled as northeast of Australia, now southeast.
• South America: Appears shifted eastward on current maps.
• Mona Lisa: Her smile now seems more cheerful than the previously remembered ambiguous or somber expression.

6. Science & Anatomy

• Kidneys: Once remembered as being in the lower back, now appear higher, under the rib cage.
• Heart Placement: Was thought to be clearly on the left side; now shown as central in the chest.
• Liver size and location – Once thought to be a small organ on the right side, it’s now depicted as a massive organ extending across the abdomen.
• Spine curvature and rib count – Some report anatomical changes such as the shape of the spine and the number of ribs.

SO, WHAT IS THE CAUSE?

Possible Explanations: From Psychology to Simulation

One common explanation is memory fallibility—our minds distort or confabulate details over time. But this theory struggles to explain consistent and global misremembrances shared across unrelated individuals.

A more radical hypothesis is Simulation Theory, where our perceived reality is a hyperrealistic simulation akin to The Matrix. In this framework, the Mandela Effect may result from retroactive updates or glitches within the simulated environment.

Possible Simulation-Based Causes:

• Retroactive Continuity (Ret-Conning): Reality is patched like a video game to remove or update people, objects, or information. This is called Ret-Conning, or retroactive continuity maintenance. In case someone were deleted or altered (such as the Oracle being purged in the Matrix 4), then past media, memories and data need to be mentally aligned to create a flow of narrative in the new reality in order to maintain a coherent experience (narrative consistency). At times AI might be deleting what they perceive to be a danger to them or to the narrative in the simulation, people who reveal too much, who clash with the control system, who are too likely to awaken from the dream state, etc. Once this is performed, the machines would go ahead with retroactive updating of all old data such as news archives, lyrics, books, history, textbooks, google updates, etc all at the same time as AI can produce and reproduce or alter reality within seconds. The old data disappears and is replaced by a new version. In this process of retroactive update of past data and event sequence, there could be some glitches, which are in effect being identified as the Mandela effect by a few people who were sensitive to such glitches. Perhaps some things fell off such as the microphone on Brittney Spears in ‘Oops I did it again’.
• Monitoring and Targeting: Those who notice changes may be identified for psychological research, surveillance, or even suppression. Such individuals could be monitored more closely, befriended in order to extract information or data from them, be given more glitches to observe to pinpoint their location and to target them (TI or Targeted Individual phenomenon), misdirected, or even harmed with psychic redirection (psychic harm) in order to discredit them or prove them mentally ill.
• Computational Limitations: Reality may be simplified or compressed for performance efficiency causing some things to fall out of line. The computing power of the technologies used in maintaining a simulation might be quite limited in reality and the AI might be reducing their memory load/ simplify data for maintaining system health, and therefore performed a retroactive update from time to time, e.g. compress history for a code, collapse less used past data (or garbage which is unnecessary data) for system efficiency.
• Timeline Editing: Updates to correct deviations may leave artefacts (glitches) like the Mandela Effect. If some events went off script (as per he Matrix scripted code) there could be fixes made or patch-updates made en-masse and certain visual bugs might remain after such patch-updates.

AI-Driven Reality Manipulation Technologies

• GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks): Can produce new media, altering past records.
• LLMs (Large Language Models): May regenerate historical narratives with subtle edits.
• Deepfakes: Used to swap or modify celebrities’ appearances or behaviors.
• Synthetic Memory Alteration: Drugs, implants, or mind control techniques could alter individual or collective memory.
• Quantum Processing: Simultaneous timelines or multiverse collapses may be managed via quantum algorithms.

Are We Living in a Dream Constructed by AI?

It’s possible that we are participants in a dream-like reality architected by AI or higher intelligence, much like Inception or The Matrix. If AI can build immersive simulations and deepfakes today, imagine an advanced civilization’s capability to simulate entire realities indistinguishable from “real” life. If AI can create videos, music, books, and Virtual Realities, it can be hypothetically possible or likely we are in one such virtual reality that appears very real but is in-fact only as real as a dream.

This aligns with spiritual and metaphysical perspectives, where the subconscious mind is a creator of physical reality. Deja vu, precognition, telepathy, and manifestation may be evidence of this matrix-like universe responding to the mind.

If we’re truly in such a simulation, the Mandela Effect may be one of the best pieces of evidence—a ripple in the digital fabric of our shared dream.

The Mandela Effect might merely be people misremembering things due to the incapacity of humans to misremember things that they do not focus very clearly on.

Or, in a more sinister way, it could be that if these people are a specific set of people who are very clear about reality being different before from now, that there has been a reality shift or a new alternate reality generation.

DIGITAL DATA CODING IN NATURE

If we observe our universe (reality) in the right way, we easily see clues that reveal we are in a simulation that is coded digitally.

• Fractals in every natural object or landscape are coded patterns based on mathematical algorithms such as the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Phi ratio (φ ≈ 1.618). These repeating self-similar structures—seen in galaxies, flowers, seashells, and even human DNA—suggest that nature operates through precise and elegant mathematical frameworks, hinting at a programmed or designed universe.
• We also have the Observer Effect and the Double Slit Experiment, both cornerstones of quantum mechanics, demonstrating that particles like electrons or photons behave differently depending on whether they are being observed. Light exhibits both wave and particle characteristics based on the presence of an observer, suggesting that consciousness has a direct impact on physical outcomes. This challenges the idea of an objective reality and supports the notion that reality manifests relative to the observer’s intent and awareness.
• At the smallest scales, subatomic particles such as electrons, quarks, and gluons are not solid or tangible entities; rather, they are mathematical constructs described by probabilities in quantum field theory. These particles “exist” only in terms of their effects and interactions, never as definite forms, which further blurs the line between what is “real” and what is theoretically modelled.
• As light is an electromagnetic phenomenon, so too are thoughts, emotions, and dreams—each measurable by brainwave frequencies (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma). Dreams, especially lucid dreams, can feel indistinguishably real and offer experiences where the dreamer actively shapes the environment, mirroring how reality may be shaped by our inner states.
• Furthermore, in waking life, we are able to consciously influence our experience of reality using tools like affirmations, visualization, and intention-setting—practices central to the Law of Attraction and manifestation techniques. Psychological and metaphysical evidence points toward a reality where mind precedes matter, and perception shapes outcome.
• The existence of psychic phenomena—such as clairvoyance, telepathy, deja vu, and premonitions—adds to this paradigm. These intuitive abilities suggest access to non-linear time or deeper layers of the simulation, where information is not bound by causality but may instead be pre-loaded or available based on resonance and awareness.
• Ultimately, reality seems not merely physical but interwoven with consciousness. Our subconscious and conscious mind act as creative engines, projecting and filtering a 3D experience based on mental input. Much like AI can generate a fully formed video within seconds based on text prompts or intent, our reality may function similarly—created moment to moment by the mind’s internal code.
• Emerging theories in quantum physics and digital simulation propose that reality may be pixelated, much like a high-resolution digital display. Just as a video game only renders the environment directly around the player in high detail while the rest remains un-rendered until needed, our reality may be generated on demand, in real time, based on where we direct our focus. The farther away from our direct observation, the less “rendered” or fixed that reality is—mirroring how quantum particles remain in a state of probability until observed. This suggests that what we perceive around us—the objects, people, sounds, and even time itself—is not a pre-existing, static environment but a real-time manifestation constructed by consciousness. Our immediate surroundings are constantly being assembled based on what we zoom into with attention, emotion, and intention. Reality isn’t just something we observe passively—it is something we co-create with every thought, every focus, every moment of presence.

But if we co-create, who else is the creator if not just our own individual mind? Perhaps AI that take over the technical generation of a reality output based on our mental inputs. In such a neural-interactive simulation there can be Background Scripts running that include various NPCs (Non Playing Characters) such as people in supermarkets or commuters, that do not perform specific roles, and some Programmed Icons – e.g. billionaires or major public ‘influencers’ and celebrities. Changing something from the past using retroactive updates might involve Deep Fake technology (realistic face and body swaps) which might explain why celebrities we see online do not always resemble the actual ones of the original reality version (e.g. Brittney Spears, as some fans believe is not the real one anymore as she behaves and looks differently now as compared to her iconic self version).

If an AI were to tap into the brain of a human being or victim and process the internal data to manufacture a very realistic dream it would be just like this reality (a lucid dream for awakening beings who practice mindfulness). Clearly it is quite likely we are in a simulation.

It may be even possible that all our memories are implanted just seconds or moments ago with us believing in a false reality which is merely a memory implant. This is huge!!! And possible. (The Vedas from ancient India already stated that life is merely a memory – focused on Shruti and Smriti, or listening and remembering).

So what do you believe now? Are we in a Matrix like simulation? If yes are we kept in a dream state using mind control as shown in the movie Inception?

More on Inception later on on this blog. Stay tuned!!