Hundreds Line Up for Special Halloween Parade Treat. Turns Out It Was Just a Trick

Hundreds of spectators lined the streets of Dublin Thursday night in anticipation of a Halloween parade that was soon discovered to be a hoax.

A website apparently set up to generate ad revenue had spread false information, leading excited crowds to line O'Connell Street in vain.

Eventually police confirmed there was no parade scheduled and urged attendees to "disperse safely." The unexpected crowd even caused brief disruptions to the Luas tram network, with Red and Green line services down for about half an hour, BBC reported.

"I looked at the website and thought it was legit...I was duped," said Bertie Bronson, a social media content creator who was among the disappointed parade-goers.

"Parades usually have barricades, security, police and some sort of organization," Bronson told BBC, explaining that he became suspicious soon after arriving.

"I was disappointed," said Hashel Thilanka, a Dublin resident who said he and others waited over an hour.

Digital expert Martin Meany spotted the high number of ads on the website promoting the event and suspected it was fake, as it appeared to be composed largely of AI-generated content.

Meany explained it's likely the website's creators noted the number of people searching online for a Dublin parade in hopes that one was planned. "They saw their opportunity and took it," he said.

People should be "extremely critical of the media they are consuming and engaging with online," Meany warned.