Thousands of people gathered on O’Connell Street in Dublin on Halloween night, excited to see a parade. However, they soon found out that there was no parade planned. This large crowd came because a website had advertised the parade, but it was later discovered that this was just a misunderstanding.
The website, which is based in Pakistan and run by a group of content creators from different countries, posted about the event without checking if it was accurate. In a public statement, the website's creator, Ali, apologised for the mistake, saying, "We are embarrassed." Ali explained that the website did not mean to mislead or prank anyone and that it was just a mistake. "It was our fault; we should have confirmed it before publishing," he stated. He also added that claims of intentional deception were “completely inaccurate.”
As Halloween night got closer, the fake information about the parade spread fast on social media and in Google searches. Many other websites and businesses also shared the announcement without knowing it was false, which made locals and tourists even more excited about the Halloween event. But at 8 p.m., an hour after the parade was supposed to start, the Garda (Irish police) posted on social media, confirming that there was no parade. They asked the crowd to leave.
Ali mentioned that his website has successfully shared information about many events in Ireland before, like St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, and they never had a problem like this before. He also said that his site usually shows up high on Google for event searches. Ali was disappointed that no one told them about the parade being canceled. He explained, “Had we been informed earlier, we would have taken it down. No one reached out to us.”
No criminal investigation to follow, Garda says
A Garda spokesperson spoke about the incident, saying there would be no criminal investigation because "no criminal offenses were reported." They also reminded people to check event information from trusted sources in the future. The Garda spokesperson’s advice was meant to help avoid more problems with event-related misinformation later on.
“We feel deeply embarrassed and sincerely regret this incident.” He assured everyone that this misleading post was a one-time mistake. He also confirmed that neither the website nor the people who created it meant to deceive the public.