# ‘Is it a mere coincidence? I don’t think so’: Social media users joke the Microsoft outage is linked to wacky 1960 study claiming ‘doomsday’ will occur on November 13, 2026

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/is-it-a-mere-coincidence-i-dont-think-so-social-media-users-joke-the-microsoft-outage-is-linked-to-wacky-1960-study-claiming-doomsday-will-occur-on-november-13-2026/
- Published: 2026-11-13T15:49:02+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T16:03:18+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/sciencetech/article-16289827/Microsoft-outage-wacky-doomsday-theory.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Research, Science, World

## Key points

- Microsoft’s outage sparked jokes about a 1960 doomsday prediction.
- The study forecast catastrophe from unchecked population growth.
- Falling birth rates made its prediction outdated.

## Summary

Social media users joked that a global Microsoft outage on Friday, 13 November 2026, matched a 1960 study’s prediction of “doomsday” on that date. The coincidence prompted playful conspiracy claims, with some users linking the disruption to the predicted population crisis and others to Friday the 13th or astrology.

The study by Heinz von Foerster and two students extrapolated population growth and suggested it would approach infinity, supposedly leading to catastrophe. Historian Alan MacEachern said the calculation was based on outdated figures: global birth rates have since fallen to less than half their 1960 level, and population growth began lagging behind the forecasts around 1993. The article says the theory has been debunked and has no connection to the Microsoft outage.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.