Social media posts claiming to show Trump crowds in NYC is actually from Dublin

by · IrishCentral

A post circulating on social media claiming to show a picture of the crowds at former US President Donald Trump’s rally in New York City on Sunday, October 27 is actually a picture of former US President Barack Obama’s visit to Dublin in 2011.

In a fact check published on October 28, PolitiFact said the photo being circulated "shows Obama’s 2011 Ireland crowd, not Trump’s in New York City in 2024."

USA Today, AFP, Full Fact, and Reuters followed with their own fact checks that proved the claims that the photo was taken in New York City were false.

PolitiFact found that the image was actually captured by Peter Macdiarmid for Getty Images in 2011.

Getty's caption of the 2011 photo reads: "People line up for a security check before a concert at which US President Obama will appear on May 23, 2011 in Dublin, Ireland.

"US President Obama is visiting Ireland for one day. He will meet with distant relatives in Moneygall and speak at a rally in central Dublin after a concert."

There are several 'tells' in the photo that it was taken in Dublin and not New York, including an Irish flag and a Dublin Bus sign.

An uncropped version of the Dublin photo shows officers in Garda uniforms, as well as shamrock-adorned light posts.

The Irish Times previously reported that Obama's speech in Dublin on May 23, 2011, ultimately drew some 60,000 people.

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USA Today highlighted several instances of social media users attempting to pass off the Dublin photo as having been from New York City.

Shockingly, one user on X claimed on Sunday to have taken the picture in New York City which had actually been captured 13 years earlier in a different country.

@Sniper64286433 shared the photo from Dublin to his 27k followers with the caption: "I took this photo 3 hours ago of people lined up at Madison square garden."

As of Thursday morning, this X post had more than 1.3 million views and 17k likes. However, it now has a community note on it saying that the photo is not from the Trump rally.

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On Sunday afternoon, Facebook user Angel Ocasio posted the photo from Dublin in the group 'President Trump The Only Option!,' which has more than 13k members.

Ocasio captioned his post: "NY currently hours before seeing Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden…."

Commenting on Ocasio's post in the Facebook group has been turned off, but more than 40 comments remain, a mix of Trump supporters and others pointing out that the claim is fake.

A few hours after Ocasio's post, Facebook user Rose Marie Ruth, who has 51k followers, shared the picture from Dublin with text over it that says: "You'd think Trump was having a concert. He isn't. He doesn't need celebrities to carry his rally for people to show up."

Her post, where one person commented "Truth triumphs. Previous promises kept make a difference. Vote early and in person. Save America," now has a 'False information' disclaimer over it.

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In reality, Trump's rally, where tickets were free and on a first-come-first-served basis, packed out the 19,500-seat Madison Square Garden. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung afterward told Newsweek: "Madison Square Garden was at capacity and, according to media reports, the number of people outside could have filled up a second Madison Square Garden easily."

All of which begs the question - why bother circulating a photo of a different event to brag about crowd sizes when the real event actually drew big crowds?