Dublin. Filled to the brim with gigs, events, and nightlife, I often get a ping of nostalgia just looking at the spire—thanks to my years there spent chasing my degree. However, after looking at the crowds of people caught up waiting for a Halloween parade that would never come, I'm very glad I wasn't back there this week.
Seemingly coming from an AI-generated website based out of Pakistan, thousands of people in Dublin, Ireland, crowded around O'Connell Street for a parade that would never come. The site claimed to have originated this parade is called "Myspirithalloween" and appears to have stolen that name from Spirit Halloween, the Halloween retailer that focuses specifically on costumes, decorations, and general festivities.
The attached Facebook page has since deleted all its posts and its Pinterest page has fake Mr Beast giveaways being used to promote (also) fake events. The original Dublin Halloween parade page also appears to have been deleted from the website, but there are still plenty of other Irish events advertised on there, some of which appear to actually be real.
The Myspirithalloween website is plastered in ads and there's tons of AI-generated content on its Pinterest and Facebook, so you could make the argument that this is inventing fake events to get page clicks. However, the presence of real events, and thousands of written words about those events, suggests this could actually simply be an aggregator, using an AI tool to scrap data from the internet, and then letting that tool categorize that information as it sees fit.
Please be advised that contrary to information being circulated online, no Halloween parade is scheduled to take place in Dublin City Centre this evening or tonight.All those gathered on O’Connell Street in expectation of such a parade are asked to disperse safely.Thank you. pic.twitter.com/KmVPFKEZbPOctober 31, 2024
I couldn't personally verify if the website really did originate the claims of a Dublin parade but it certainly appears to have spread them, and screenshots from searches near the time of the event show it had some presence in Google.
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It's unlikely many of those in the streets actually saw the original site but enough would have seen it to have shared with passers-by. O'Connell Street is an incredibly popular location, having many businesses, and it's central for commuters, both those who take the tram (called the Luas) and the bus.
The fact that someone with access to an AI model could contribute to this widescale a panic is certainly worth concern, and the thousands who wasted their time in a very crowded place must certainly regret hanging around for nothing. Even the Garda Síochána (the Irish police) had to put out a statement about the parade.
However, it's important to note the human element of this, and how likely you are not just to fall victim to AI misinformation (be it malicious or not) information spread via seemingly well-intentioned strangers, just waiting for a good night out.
