Thousands of people fell for a hoax that billed a grand fireworks display at the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, according to reports. Accounts across TikTok and Instagram had plugged a colorful New Year’s Eve display at the iconic site, using artificial intelligence and videos from Independence Day to make the sham event seem real. Those who answered the call flocked to the bridge along the East River, only to be disappointed when midnight came and went. “Did we get pranked? We got pranked,” one social media user is heard saying in a clip at the scene of the non-event. His video showed the crowd counting down from five to one and awaiting the boom of fireworks, only to be met with excruciating silence. “What does this say about 2026?” a companion asks. “It’s not off to a good start,” he answers. A similar stunt played out in the United Kingdom, according to TikTok videos that show disappointed families in the city of Birmingham coming to realize they’d been duped.
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