{"id":88150,"date":"2026-01-03T14:01:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T14:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88150\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T14:01:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T14:01:29","slug":"hundreds-of-people-waited-at-the-brooklyn-bridge-for-fireworks-that-never-came-all-because-of-ai-slop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/88150\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds of people waited at the Brooklyn Bridge for fireworks that never came, all because of AI slop"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the days leading up to New Year’s Eve, AI-generated posts flooded social media, showing fireworks over the Brooklyn Bridge. These posts claimed the fireworks would be part of the city\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve festivities.<\/p>\n

The videos were apparently convincing enough that thousands of people showed up along the Brooklyn waterfront to see the display for themselves.<\/p>\n

\"CloudyAI ads mislead thousands about NYE fireworks<\/p>\n

The large crowd of people was duped by fake ads about a fireworks show at the Brooklyn Bridge. As midnight hit, nothing happened. No fireworks. The huge crowds waited for hours, only to be let down.<\/p>\n

Marco Abbiati, a New Yorker, took to Instagram to explain what went wrong. “Last night, thousands of people went to DUMBO & the Brooklyn Bridge expecting New Year\u2019s Eve fireworks,” he wrote on Instagram<\/a>. “They waited for hours in the cold\u2026 and nothing happened. Why? Because in the past few days, social media pages and AI-generated posts shared videos of fireworks at the Brooklyn Bridge, claiming they were for NYE. Those videos were actually from July 4th.”<\/p>\n

\"Video<\/p>\n

The AI posts were misleading, falsely suggesting that the Brooklyn Bridge would host a fireworks display similar to those in other major cities. However, no such event had ever been scheduled. In fact, Brooklyn does not typically have fireworks on New Year\u2019s Eve. Instead, a handful of other spots in the city are known for their smaller displays.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Abbiati, who also mentioned that many of the pages promoting the hoax were run by individuals outside of New York City<\/a>, pointed out how social media and AI can mislead users when not fact-checked properly. “Many of those pages are run by people who don\u2019t live in NYC and have never experienced New Year\u2019s Eve here,” he explained.<\/p>\n

Reactions on social media<\/p>\n

Social media users quickly reacted to the viral misinformation. TikToker @alldaynyc posted a video<\/a> showing the disappointed crowd in Brooklyn, mocking the situation. \u201cYo, this is incredible. Look at all the people lined up in Brooklyn thinking they about to see fireworks on the Brooklyn Bridge,\u201d he said. “They came here because they follow a bunch of AI slop, TikTok, and Instagrams. […] Stop following these fugazy pages.”<\/p>\n

Some New Yorkers responded to the incident with humor. “A real NY\u2019er knows there’s no NYE fireworks<\/a> over there\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02 only Coney Island and some other unofficial spots,” one commenter joked. Another wrote, “April fools in December \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02”<\/p>\n

Others expressed concerns about the dangers of blindly trusting online content. “This is actually quite scary that this many people don’t fact-check what they see on here \ud83d\ude2c,” one TikToker said. Another questioned, “How did police not see this huge crowd and tell them there were no Brooklyn Bridge fireworks?”<\/p>\n

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This story was originally featured on The Daily Dot<\/a>.<\/p>\n