A Pakistan-based firm has issued an apology after inadvertently promoting a nonexistent Halloween parade in Dublin, leading to a large crowd gathering on O’Connell Street in anticipation of the event. The company attributed the mistake to a “human error.”
Videos from Thursday night depicted throngs of people packed along both sides of O’Connell Street, awaiting a supposed procession of giant Halloween puppets created by the Galway performance company Mácnas. Filmmaker Bertie Brosnan documented the scene on social media, noting that spectators were gathered five to ten deep, stretching around the corner, with thousands present. The Luas tram service was significantly disrupted due to the crowd.
I’m crying 🤣🤣🤣
Hundreds gathered on Dublin’s O’Connell Street for a rumoured Halloween parade that turned out to be a hoax.
📷 Artur Martins pic.twitter.com/rnwLcp0dGP
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) October 31, 2024
The event had been advertised on the My Spirit Halloween website, but when attendees arrived, gardaí were forced to disperse them, informing them that no parade was scheduled. Many began to suspect they had fallen victim to a scam or a seasonal prank.
The company’s website had erroneously listed the fictional event as taking place between 7 PM and 9 PM on Thursday. It was later revealed that a team member had mistakenly copied last year’s event details into the current year’s calendar.
Nazir Ali, the man behind the website, expressed deep regret, saying he felt “depressed” and “embarrassed” by the incident. He emphasized, “It was our mistake and we should have double-checked it to make sure it was happening,” adding that reports claiming the promotion was intentional were incorrect.
In light of the incident, Irish parliament member Gary Gannon highlighted the dangers of misinformation and deepfakes. He referred to a recent deepfake of singer Taylor Swift endorsing a political candidate, cautioning about the implications of AI-generated content. “That was quite funny, but when it becomes something serious, it’s a concern,” he remarked in an interview with RTÉ.
