The Mandela Effect refers to a phenomenon where a large group of people share false memories about specific events or facts that never actually occurred. Examples include memories of Nelson Mandela dying in prison in the 1980s rather than 2013, or the Berenstain Bears being spelled "Berenstein." Psychiatrists attribute the effect to the malleability of human memory and the tendency to accept misinformation as fact over time. While some link it to conspiracy theories about parallel universes or history changing, most experts agree it is simply caused by faults in human memory and the spread of misinformation.

1. What's causing the Mandela Effect?
The Mandela Effect is the phenomenon of people’s collective
misremembering of specific facts or events. It is what happens when
someone has a clear “memory” of something that never actually
happened. The Mandela Effect is often linked to bizarre conspiracy
theories involving parallel universes, colliding alternate realities, and
time travel. One tenet of these theories is that history is actually being
changed, and that this phenomenon is a spiritual manifestation which
explains why we remember something but history doesn’t record it.
Others go so far as to say changes are being made in the Holy
Scriptures, too.
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2. The term Mandela Effect was coined by Fiona Broome, a writer and
paranormal consultant, in 2010. Ms. Broome explains the Mandela
Effect on her website: “Many of us—mostly total strangers—
remember the exact same events with the exact same details.
However, our memories are different from what’s in the history
books, newspaper archives, and so on.”
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3. The term is a reference to South African leader Nelson Mandela. A
group of people had a false memory of Nelson Mandela dying in
prison in the 1980s (he actually died in December 2013). Conspiracy
theorists hypothesize that, whenever a significant number of people
share a similar false memory, then the event is related to “alternate
history” or “parallel realities.”
In the case of Mandela, the theorists would say he did die in the 1980s
(in one universe), and he did die in 2013 (in another universe). People
have memories of both because they’ve been “sliding” back and forth
between the two realities without knowing it. As ridiculous as these
theories may sound, Ms. Broome has gained a solid following online,
writing articles, books, and giving speeches on related subjects.
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4. The Mandela Effect and its resulting conspiracy theory gained traction
when boxing legend Muhammad Ali died in June, 2016, at age 74.
Many people said they remembered his having died several years
earlier. There are other examples of the Mandela Effect, such as the
belief that Hurricane Katrina did not strike the Gulf Coast in August
2005 but rather four months earlier.
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5. Another common example of the Mandela Effect involves the “Tank
Man”—the iconic image of a young man blocking a tank at
Tiananmen Square in China in 1989. Many people today claim the
protester who stood in front of the tanks was run over by the tanks.
They were taught this in school, read it in their textbooks, watched the
footage, and can still visualize it perfectly according to their memory.
In reality, the man was never run over.
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6. Other, less dramatic examples of the Mandela Effect:
Most of us remember the evil queen in Disney’s version of Snow White
saying, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” In
reality, the queen says, “Magic mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of
them all?”
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7. The imperative “Play it again, Sam” is never spoken in the classic film
Casablanca, although that movie “quote” is a familiar one in most
people’s minds.
In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader doesn’t say, “Luke, I am your
father,” as many of us recall. Actually, he says, “No, I am your father.”
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8. The Statue of Liberty is not and never has been on Ellis Island.
Psychiatrists have offered an explanation for the Mandela Effect—the
misinformation effect. Citing a 30-year study on the malleability of the
memory, an article in the scientific journal Learning and Memory
attributes what others call the Mandela Effect to “the impairment in
memory for the past that arises after exposure to misleading
information” (Loftus, E. F. “Planting Misinformation in the Human
Mind: A 30-year Investigation of the Malleability of Memory.”
Learning and Memory. 2005; 12:361–366).
If you haven’t paid close attention to something, the details of it can
become blurred in your mind at the suggestion of others. In some cases,
the misinformation can actually overwrite your original memory,
especially if it’s presented in a way that makes it seem more plausible
In examining the Mandela Effect, we must remember that information
passed on by others, whether it’s seen, read, or heard, isn’t always
factual. If we are exposed to intrusive or contradictory information
over time, our memories can change or become distorted. Repeat a lie
often enough, and people will believe it. This “misinformation effect”
is one reason why courtroom workers try to preserve the integrity of a
witness’s testimony and seek jurors who are not influenced by outside
reports and speculation.
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9. Instances of the Mandela Effect are proof that humans spread
misinformation and that we all have faulty memories. The Mandela
Effect has nothing to do with a multiverse or parallel realities. The
truth is that some people would rather believe the entire universe to
be flawed rather than admit themselves at fault.
We live in an age of “fake news” as incorrect information is widely
circulated and shared by unsuspecting (or maybe not-so-innocent)
people. Of course, being human, we will at times inadvertently
misperceive, misread, misinterpret, or misunderstand things. We need
discernment and true biblical wisdom to inhibit the effects of the daily
bombardment of distortions and half-truths. Followers of Jesus are to
be “wise as serpents” (Matthew 10:16).
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10. Remarkably enough, there are some who cite the Mandela Effect
theory to claim that changes are being made to the Biblical accounts.
For example, many people will think they recognize the statement
“The lion will lie down with the lamb” as being from Scripture, but it’s
not.
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11. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with
the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little
child shall lead them.” Isaiah 11:6
Some claim that the Bible used to describe the lion lying down with the
lamb, but someone changed it—either that, or it’s a spiritual
manifestation or we slipped into an alternate universe. A better
explanation is that people don’t know the Bible as well as they think
they do and they have allowed artwork and other people’s misquotations
to color their memories. There is no reason to believe the Bible is being
altered by a nefarious time-traveler or by slipping between parallel
realities or spiritual demonic activity.
“Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister
questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.” 1 Timothy
1:4
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