FACT CHECK: Nostradamus did not predict Marcos presidency

Claim: Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidency was foreseen by Nostradamus, as told in the passage, “In the 57th year of [the] 19th century, the peace of justice and the blood of love from the blessed land of the oriental pearl in Asia, an innocent boy shall be born.”

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The YouTube video was posted by a channel with 955,000 subscribers. As of this writing, the YouTube video has 221,000 views.

No such words: The passage quoted by the narrator in the YouTube video is suspect since it cannot be found anywhere in the English version of Nostradamus’ book of prophecies.

Incorrect date: According to the video, the phrase “57th year of [the]19th century,” referred to the year 1957 – the birth year of Marcos. This is incorrect, however, since the statement “57th year of [the] 19th century” refers to the year 1857, a hundred years before the birth of Marcos.

Previously debunked: Similar claims have been made before, which have been debunked by numerous fact-checkers.

A fact check published on November 26, 2021 clarified that the term “Pearl of the Orient Seas” was first used in 1751 by historian Fr. Juan J. del Gado in reference to the Philippines; Nostradamus’ book of prophecies was published in 1555.

Fact-checks from Vera Files and the Baguio Chronicle could not find the supposed prophetic verse from Nostradamus’ book. – Miguel Batallones/Rappler.com

Miguel Batallones is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
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