On New Year’s Eve, many people were tricked by a fake story about fireworks displays in Brooklyn, New York, and Birmingham, England. The hoax spread through ads created using artificial intelligence on social media.
After Christmas, many people start anticipating New Year’s Eve. There are lots of ways to celebrate – some prefer a quiet night in watching the festivities on TV, while others like to go out and party with friends or even strangers.
Fireworks are a key tradition in many celebrations, and spectacular displays happen all over the globe, like the famous ball drop in Times Square, New York.
This year, many expected a light show in Brooklyn similar to the one in Sydney, Australia, envisioning the Brooklyn Bridge illuminated like the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Brooklyn’s New Year’s Eve fireworks don’t happen
It turned out the event was a false alarm. Many people – reports say thousands – gathered to watch the midnight countdown, but were disappointed because there were no fireworks.
Marco Abbiati, a New Yorker, clarified on Instagram that videos circulating on social media claiming to show New Year’s Eve fireworks at the Brooklyn Bridge were actually from the July 4th celebrations. These videos, including some created using AI, had been widely shared.
Lots of online guides to New Year’s Eve in NYC are created by people who aren’t local and haven’t actually been here for the celebration. This often leads to bad recommendations, wasted time, and disappointing experiences. While social media and AI can be helpful, they’re risky if they lack accurate, on-the-ground information.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by My Christmas in New York | Marco Abbiati (@mychristmasinnewyorkcity)
New Year’s hoax also in Birmingham
This has happened before. In Birmingham, England, thousands of people were fooled again this year into thinking there was a large New Year’s Eve celebration planned.
The New Year’s Eve party that was heavily promoted as a major event didn’t live up to the hype. Even though police had announced there wouldn’t be any fireworks, hundreds of people still showed up.
As a local, I always see these rumors pop up online about huge parties happening in the city. It’s a bummer, because usually they turn out to be totally false and just end up confusing and disappointing people, according to the police.
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2026-01-02 15:20