Latest news with #America250
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Fox News rumor claims network added 'fake cheering' sounds to Trump's Army anniversary parade speech. Here's the truth
Claim: A video confirms Fox News added inauthentic cheering sounds in the moments before U.S. President Donald Trump's speech honoring the Army's 250th anniversary. Rating: A rumor that circulated online in video form in June 2025 claimed Fox News added inauthentic cheering sounds to its coverage of the moments leading up to U.S. President Donald Trump's speech honoring the Army's 250th anniversary in Washington, purportedly to make his entrance appear more impressive. The speech followed a military parade held on June 14. For example, on June 15, a TikTok user posted a video (archived) titled "PBS vs FOX," allegedly comparing broadcasts by PBS News and Fox News, and claiming that the latter added "fake cheering." The video received more than 1.3 million views. A Threads user's post (archived) with the same video — including the TikTok user's watermark — received over 280,000 views. That was reposted (archived) by another Threads user and received over 3.1 million views. In other words, users were virally sharing the rumor, including on Bluesky (archived), Facebook, Instagram (archived), Reddit (archived), Threads (archived), TikTok (archived) and X (archived) and YouTube (archived). However, Snopes determined this rumor claiming Fox News deceptively added inauthentic cheering sounds to its broadcast was false. Users' posts lacked crucial context, primarily the fact that PBS News and other prominent media outlets also hosted YouTube videos featuring the loud cheers. By email, a Fox News spokesperson specified that their networks utilized two audio-video feeds for the event, including a "network pool feed" that featured less audible cheering and another feed labeled "America250," which was the source of the audio with the louder cheering. Speaking about the rumor, the spokesperson said, "This is a blatantly false smear and nothing was altered whatsoever." Snopes emailed PBS News to ask if they wished to comment on this rumor. We also emailed the America250 organization and the White House asking for confirmation that the officials managing the America250 feed did not manipulate the audio themselves. No matter the answer, it would still be false to claim Fox News added inauthentic cheering sounds. We will update this story if we receive more information. The video comparison users shared pitted a PBS News broadcast using what the Fox News spokesperson referenced as the "network pool feed" against the "America250" feed from FOX 5 New York — not to be confused with the nationally-broadcast U.S. cable news network Fox News. Even so, users commenting under social media posts submitted remarks specifically about Fox News. (The same moment users shared begins in the FOX 5 New York YouTube video beginning at about the 4:40:52 mark.) According to the Internet Archive's TV News Archive website, Fox News, the cable TV network, didn't broadcast the "America250" feed live. Instead, in that specific moment, Fox News aired the quieter "network pool feed" — the same feed depicted in the viral video as PBS News' broadcast. Further, an online search found two previously-live PBS News videos on the PBS NewsHour YouTube channel — one from the "network pool feed" and the other from the "America250" feed. One PBS News video depicted the same clip users shared that lacked the audible cheering sounds. The second PBS News video featured the loud cheering, which begins at the 2:14:07 mark below: Other local and national news media outlets' YouTube channels also hosted the "America250" feed featuring the cheering noises, including for example ABC News, ABC News 4, The Associated Press, C-SPAN, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, Reuters and WUSA9. A related false rumor shared on Threads (archived), for example, claimed Fox News "manipulated" audio of the crowd singing "Happy Birthday" to Trump just after his speech. However, a Fox News spokesperson explained that the main network broadcast the network pool feed, which captured the singing in a more audible manner. PBS News broadcast the same audio in which "Happy Birthday" was audible, specifically at the 8:30 mark in this video. According to in 2016, Congress established the nonpartisan initiative America250 — formally the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission — "to plan and orchestrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States." The anniversary takes place on July 4, 2026, 250 years after July 4, 1776. The commission's website (archived) features a leadership team showing members from both the Democratic and Republican parties. The White House website (archived) also hosts a page about its White House Salute to America 250 Task Force. For further reading, a previous fact check examined a rumor that a video showed Trump "waving at no one." America250. "Army 250 Parade | FOX News | June 14, 2025 | 5:00pm-6:00pm PDT." Internet Archive, TV News Archive, 14 June 2025, "FULL SPEECH: President Donald Trump Speaks at 250th Anniversary Parade for US Army." YouTube, ABC News 4, 15 June 2025, "Live: DC Military Parade on Trump's Birthday | Raw, Unanchored Coverage." YouTube, FOX 5 New York, 14 June 2025, "LIVE: Military Parade in DC and 'No Kings' Protests against Trump." YouTube, Associated Press, 14 June 2025, "LIVE: Trump Holds Military Parade on His Birthday for US Army's 250th Anniversary | REUTERS." YouTube, Reuters, 14 June 2025, "LIVE: U.S. Army's 250th Anniversary Grand Military Parade l ABC News Live." YouTube, ABC News, 14 June 2025, "President Trump Remarks at U.S. Army 250th Anniversary Parade & Celebration." C-SPAN, 14 June 2025, "Trump Military Parade LIVE: US Army's 250th Birthday Celebration." YouTube, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, 14 June 2025, "WATCH: Army 250th Anniversary-- Full Parade Stream." YouTube, WUSA9, 14 June 2025, "WATCH LIVE: Trump Speaks at Military Parade on Army's 250th Anniversary in Washington, D.C." YouTube, PBS NewsHour, 14 June 2025, "WATCH LIVE: Trump's Military Parade Honoring Army's 250th Birthday Rolls through Washington, D.C." YouTube, PBS NewsHour, 14 June 2025,
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Parade Turnout Swamped by Millions Who Protested at ‘No Kings' Rallies
Saturday's 'No Kings' protests drew millions of Americans out into the streets to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump's increasingly autocratic, authoritarian governance. On Monday, the ACLU declared that over five million people had assembled across 2,000 demonstrations. That number was echoed by other organizations partnered with 'No Kings,' which was organized to counter the 'dictator-style' military parade Trump organized for his own birthday. While the liberal opposition has been trumpeting its impact, the Trump administration has been muted about how many people showed up to his parade, which ostensibly also honored the founding of the U.S. Army 250 years ago. In a statement to Rolling Stone, a spokesperson for America250 — the public arm of the congressionally authorized U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which organized the parade — offered an eye-popping estimate, suggesting that '250,000 patriots joined us on Saturday, despite the threat of heavy rain. In addition, more than 60 million Americans tuned in across streaming platforms and traditional broadcast media.' 250,000 would, implausibly, put the parade attendance on par with the turnout for historic gatherings including the 1965 March on Washington for Peace in Vietnam, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered the 'I Have a Dream' speech. The estimate of 250,000 on the 250th anniversary of the Army at an event titled 'America250'? It's a little on the nose, and does not match on-the-ground reports of turnout. The White House sent Rolling Stone a link to a Department of Defense tweet stating that 'HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of proud Americans' attended the event. The White House would not clarify how many hundreds of thousands, or what entity had produced that estimate. Saturday's parade was, at least officially, staged to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the formation of the U.S. Army. Unofficially, the $45 million pageant of tanks, battalions, choppers, and bombers was the fulfillment of President Trump's long held goose-marching fantasies. The fact that it took place on his birthday was (legally) a coincidence. The parade felt less like the imposing show of military might envisioned, and more like a mobilized display for military history aficionados. And turnout reflected it. As previously reported by Rolling Stone, attendance at the parade was light for an event whose staging disrupted large swaths of Washington D.C. Risers intended to be packed with enthusiastic Trump fans remained underfilled throughout the parade. The lawns around the Washington monument, which had been blocked off in anticipation of a huge gathering, remained sparsely populated, even as the attendees coalesced in front of a central stage to hear the post-parade lineup of speakers, including the president. It wouldn't be the first time Trump and his allies have gone to war with reality over crowd sizes to sooth the president's ego. One would struggle to forget his 2017 meltdown over the size of the inaugural crowd during his first term. On Jan. 6, 2021, the president demanded that security be loosened around the Ellipse in order to pack the crowd at his now infamous 'Stop The Steal' speech. (He later claimed that he'd drawn a bigger crowd the 1963 March on Washington. He had not.) As previously reported by Rolling Stone, during the 2024 campaign cycle, Trump privately obsessed over the size of crowds attending the rallies of his opponent — former Vice President Kamala Harris — at one point accusing her campaign of manipulating images of the crowd with AI. After videos of squeaky tanks, half empty grandstands, and soldiers marching out of step went viral on social media, the parade became the subject of widespread mockery. Not out of disregard for the Army and its history, but because the entire event felt like a poorly executed effort to entertain the man who is currently deploying active duty Marines to Los Angeles to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids against migrant communities and intimidate those who oppose him. In Los Angeles — where anti-ICE protests and clashes with law enforcement have been taking place for more than a week — 'No Kings' organizers estimated 200,000 people turned out for the city's demonstration. The New York Police Department estimated that 50,000 marched in Manhattan. In Boston, a joint gathering of Pride Month revelers and No Kings protesters drew an estimated 1 million attendees over the course of the day. Even in smaller cities like Anchorage, Alaska; Louisville, Kentucky; and Tuscon, Arizona, 'No Kings' protests managed to draw thousands into the streets. In line with organizer estimates, an independent number cruncher pegs total 'No Kings' turnout at between 4 and 6 million. The Trump administration may choose to bury how many people actually showed up to the Mall to watch the president's Army's birthday parade, but what they cannot hide is that millions more chose to take to the streets all around the country to reject him. More from Rolling Stone 'Chicago Is Next': Team Trump Plots Another Militarized Crackdown Tear Gas, Human Stampedes, and ICE Raids: 100 Hours in L.A. Trump Mobile Is the First Family's Latest Effort to Cash In on the White House Best of Rolling Stone The Useful Idiots New Guide to the Most Stoned Moments of the 2020 Presidential Campaign Anatomy of a Fake News Scandal The Radical Crusade of Mike Pence
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Elon Musk's Chatbot Questions Trump Team's Crowd Claims
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Questions are being asked about the crowd at a military parade held on President Donald Trump's birthday after apparent discrepancies between the visitor numbers touted by the White House and those given by Elon Musk's chatbot. Saturday's event, run by organizers America250, was held to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, which was established on June 14, 1775. The military display coincided with the U.S. president's 79th birthday, sparking speculation that the parade was his idea. However, doubts have been sown about the popularity of the event. While a White House official claimed that more than a quarter-million people turned out, the AI chatbot Grok—founded by tech mogul Musk, Trump's former confidant—suggested that the figure was "exaggerated." Newsweek has reached out by email to organizers America250 for comment. President Donald Trump salutes troops during the celebration of the Army's 250th birthday on the National Mall on June 14, 2025, in Washington. President Donald Trump salutes troops during the celebration of the Army's 250th birthday on the National Mall on June 14, 2025, in Washington. Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images Why It Matters Trump has often been accused by his critics of exaggerating his own popularity. A similar debate broke out about the number of people that he claimed attended his first inauguration as president in 2017. Arguments over the military parade's audience numbers this weekend are likely to be fueled by Grok's assessment, and the dispute comes at a tricky time in the relationship between Trump and Musk. The pair were so close that Musk was once dubbed the "First Buddy" and given the task of running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But the pair had a dramatic falling out this month. In recent days though, a rapprochement appears to be brewing after Trump said he was open to forgiving Musk, while the tech titan confessed that his posts about Trump "went too far." What To Know The military parade kicked off on a miserable, gray and rainy day, and Trump supporters had feared that the weather and anti-Trump protests could keep some spectators away. However, there is no doubt that tens of thousands of people turned up to watch the show, as tanks rolled through the streets while military jets flew overhead. Video filmed during the event shows people lining the route and milling around. But the footage also shows sparse crowds and empty bleachers, and it remains unclear exactly how many people attended the parade. The highest figure, and the one being used by the White House, is 250,000, although the amount is highly disputed. Even if that number is accepted, however, it is still dwarfed by the millions who demonstrated against Trump in the nationwide "No Kings" protests, although that was a U.S.-wide coordinated event compared to the localized parade in Washington. What People Are Saying White House Director of Communications Steve Cheung, on Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter: "Amazing. Despite the threat of rain, over 250,000 patriots showed up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the @USArmy. God Bless the USA!" Amazing. Despite the threat of rain, over 250,000 patriots showed up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the @USArmy. God Bless the USA! — Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) June 15, 2025 Grok, when asked whether it was true that "over 250,000 patriots show[ed] up to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the @USArmy in person": "Claims of over 250,000 attendees at the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary parade in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2025, appear exaggerated. Official permits allowed for up to 200,000 for the parade and 50,000 for the festival, but news reports suggest actual attendance was lower than expected. No official figures confirm the 250,000 claim, and sources like PBS and KTLA indicate turnout fell short of 200,000. Exact numbers remain unverified as of now." Claims of over 250,000 attendees at the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary parade in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 2025, appear exaggerated. Official permits allowed for up to 200,000 for the parade and 50,000 for the festival, but news reports suggest actual attendance was lower than... — Grok (@grok) June 15, 2025 One X user, whose profile said she was a "Wife/Mother/Christian": "I'm sure more would've shown up but there was the threat by @TheDemocrats Paid protesters." Another X commentator, who identifies as a Trump supporter in their profile: "It has been an absolutely fantastic evening! The fireworks right now are incredible. So proud of our Army, our country, and President Trump. Thank you God!" One X user, whose profile says they are a "Gen X advocate [...who] champions immigrant contributions": "The claim of 250,000 attendees is nothing short of laughable. It's as if the laws of physics were suspended for the day, allowing an impossible number of people to fit into a space that clearly couldn't hold them [...] Perhaps next time, we could invest in a reliable counting method, like actual headcounts or, dare I say, honesty." Another X account, whose profile does not reveal a political allegiance: "Were these 250,000 people also wearing camo?" What Happens Next The crowd size is likely to continue to be debated by both sides, and Trump has yet to comment on the exact number in attendance.
Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Corporate Sponsors at 250th Army Anniversary Parade and Festival
Twenty two corporations and foundations are sponsoring the 250th Army Birthday Parade and Festival on the National Mall, according to the Army. General Dynamics and USAA are the presenting sponsors for the festival, which is also benefiting from a long list of companies and nonprofits including: the Gary Sinise Foundation, Bell Textron, Wounded Warrior Project Wal-Mart, GOVX, Leonardo DRS, RTX Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Leidos, Armed Forces Mutual, Boeing, First Command, General Electric Aerospace, T-Mobile, King George, InterContinental Hotels Group and the NFL. America250 Foundation, the nonprofit organizing the U.S. Semiquincentennial celebration, recently announced it received sponsorship commitments from Oracle, Lockheed Martin, UFC, Coinbase, Palantir, Amazon, Exiger, Scott's Miracle Gro, Phorm Energy and FedEx. Many of those companies will also be supporting Saturday's parade, according to a press release from America250.
The Verge
6 days ago
- Business
- The Verge
along the route for some of the Big Tech companies backing
Sponsored by Coinbase, Palantir, and... There was prominent placement Trump's military parade, as long as they haven't been removed from the list of sponsors for America250.
