Seems to be like AI is a horrible social gathering planner.
1000’s of revelers have been tricked by phony social media movies into gathering at Brooklyn Bridge Park to observe a grand fireworks show on New 12 months’s Eve — solely to search out out the occasion didn’t truly exist.
Accounts throughout TikTok and Instagram reportedly used AI movies to plug the supposed present as an ideal solution to ring in 2026 — prompting hundreds to consider the web slop and present up, and even sparking an article in Time Out New York selling the non-event as a sizzling factor to do on the vacation.
“Did we get pranked? We received pranked. The quantity of people who find themselves misinformed right here,” mentioned Zack Gill, who was tricked into happening to the park posted a viral video of the disillusioned crowd.
The clip exhibits an enormous throng of duped revelers on the Brooklyn riverside counting down the second to midnight — after which wanting shocked as no fireworks went off on the bridge.
“What does this say about 2026?” his pal responds.
Different angles of the prank present hundreds of keen celebrants with telephones in hand, able to seize the second the sunshine present went off over the Brooklyn Bridge.
The group counted down collectively and cheered — after which there was a noticeable silence when the sky stayed darkish.
The one waterfront fireworks present happened close to the Statue of Liberty and down at Coney Island, each removed from the views on the DUMBO piers.
Central Park and Prospect Park additionally had fireworks exhibits.
The hundreds of revelers — who braved below-freezing temperatures and frigid gusts for the chance — have been apparently fed false info on social media that got here from ChatGPT, irresponsible content material creators and ill-meaning pranksters.
Maybe probably the most surprising supply of misinformation got here from Time Out New York, which named the waterfront on its listing of “greatest locations to observe New 12 months’s Eve fireworks in NYC at no cost.”
“If you need fireworks with a skyline backdrop, Brooklyn Bridge Park is the place to be. From Piers one via six alongside DUMBO’s waterfront, you’ll get sweeping views of the East River, Decrease Manhattan and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges framing the present. It’s a chief location for photographs, particularly as fireworks mirror off the water. The draw back is that it fills up quick. Goal to reach earlier than sundown to get the very best spot,” wrote Gerrish Lopez, a New Orleans native, whose bylines principally include nationwide meals listicles.
The article has since been edited to take away Brooklyn Bridge Park, however Time Out didn’t order a correction.
Secret NYC, which boasts itself because the “ultra-shareable on-line information to information, occasions, and issues to do” within the Large Apple, additionally listed the spot in a now-deleted Fb submit, placing Brooklyn Bridge Park within the No. 1 slot.
Representatives for Time Out and Secret NYC didn’t instantly reply to The Put up’s request for remark.
A few of the so-called victims admitted they relied on AI packages like ChatGPT for recommendations on find out how to ring within the new yr.
Social media was additionally rampant with pranksters advising vacationers to rely down from midnight on the park or in DUMBO.
“The Brooklyn Bridge has an excellent view of the fireworks and you’ll keep away from the Instances Sq. craziness,” one troll wrote on Reddit.
Whereas the expertise was a let-down for the hundreds who braved the chilly for nothing, it offered nice fodder for others to begin 2026 with fun.
“who’s going to inform them just isn’t 4th of July?” one viewer commented.
“I’ve by no means laughed so laborious in my life,” one other mentioned.
