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A Coast Guard cutter passes a cargo ship that is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (AP) A Coast Guard cutter passes a cargo ship that is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (AP)

A Coast Guard cutter passes a cargo ship that is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge March 26, 2024, in Baltimore, Md. (AP)

Grace Abels
By Grace Abels March 29, 2024
Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu
By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu March 29, 2024

Baltimore bridge is not the same bridge as seen in Obama-produced Netflix film

If Your Time is short

  • "Leave the World Behind" was filmed on location in Long Island, New York.

  • The Francis Scott Key Bridge is in Baltimore.

  • No spin, just facts you can trust. Here's how we do it.

Many people who saw real-world footage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s March 26 collapse likened the scene to a disaster movie.

But an online claim we saw circulating on social media went one step further.

"For those of you that don’t know," a March 27 Facebook post said, "The Francis Scott Key bridge is the same bridge that was shown in the Netflix movie ‘Leave the World Behind.’ The production company is owned by the Obamas. Open your eyes people."

The post included an image of a person sitting on the edge of what looks like a hospital bed, staring out across the water at the bridge crash in Baltimore. Similar posts were shared on X.

The Facebook post were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The 2023 apocalyptic Netflix hit film "Leave the World Behind," starred Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali. It was based on a 2020 novel of the same name and produced by Higher Ground, a media company co-founded by former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama.

The film does not feature the Francis Scott Key Bridge. And the image in the post is not from the movie; we found a version of it on a stock image site. The original stock image shows a cityscape view out of the window, not the collapsed Key Bridge.

Featured Fact-check

"Leave the World Behind" was filmed largely on location at a house on Long Island, New York. "The house at the center of ‘Leave the World Behind’ is a real location; exterior shots and some interiors were filmed in Old Westbury, New York," Netflix said in Tudum, its behind-the-scenes online magazine.

Newsday, a news outlet covering Long Island, reported about the movie’s crew filming in several locations in the area in April 2022.

PolitiFact reviewed scenes from the film and found no match for the Baltimore bridge.

"Leave the World Behind" has some scenes with bridges, including one in which a long pile of self-driving Teslas crash. Atlas on Wonders, a website that uses crowdsourced information to identify film locations, identified that bridge as the Jones Bay Bridge in Long Island, New York. 

The bridge in another scene showing New York City in ruins appears to be a computer-generated image of the George Washington Bridge, which connects New York and New Jersey. In another scene, a ship runs ashore, forcing beachgoers to run to safety. The ship did not crash into a bridge.

Officials and investigators probing the Baltimore bridge collapse have called it an accident and say there is no evidence that the bridge was targeted. 

We rate the claim that the Key bridge is the same bridge that was shown in "Leave the World Behind" False.

RELATED: No, the movie "Leave the World Behind" didn’t predict the Baltimore bridge collapse

Our Sources

Facebook post, (archived link), Mar. 27, 2024

X post, (archived link), Mar. 27, 2024

Netflix, Leave the World Behind: Everything to Know About the Apocalyptic Thriller, Dec. 13, 2023

PolitiFact, Baltimore bridge collapse: A cyberattack, a movie and other false claims about the ship accident, Mar. 27, 2024

PolitiFact, No, the movie "Leave the World Behind" didn’t predict the Baltimore bridge collapse, Mar. 27, 2024 

The Associated Press, Baltimore bridge collapses after powerless cargo ship rams into support column; 6 presumed dead, Mar. 26, 2024

Variety, Michelle Obama Hits CAA for Meetings After Impressive ‘Leave the World Behind’ Netflix Debut, Dec. 13, 2023

Screen Rant, Where Was Leave The World Behind Filmed? Netflix Disaster Movie's Filming Locations Explained, Dec. 10, 2023

Newsday, Julia Roberts' Netflix movie 'Leave the World Behind' filming on Long Island, Apr. 5, 2022

Atlas of Wonders, Where was Leave the World Behind filmed? The Point Comfort house & all the locations, accessed Mar. 29, 2024

YouTube, Ending Scene | Leave The World Behind (2023), Dec. 9, 2023

YouTube, Ship crashing into beach scene - Leave The World Behind (2023), Dec. 8, 2023

YouTube, Leave the world behind - Tesla's cars pile up scene, Dec. 11, 2023

Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Leave the World Behind - Filming Locations, accessed Mar. 28, 2024

We Got This Covered, Where was ‘Leave the World Behind’ filmed?, Dec. 8, 2023

Riverhead Local, ‘Leave the World Behind,’ featuring scenes shot locally last year, now streaming on Netflix, Dec. 8, 2023

Freepik, Person sitting up in hospital bed looking out the window at urban skyline, accessed Mar. 29, 2024

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Baltimore bridge is not the same bridge as seen in Obama-produced Netflix film

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