Photos show the inside of the BOK Center during Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa.
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Photos show crowds at other events, not Trump’s Tulsa rally
If Your Time is short
- Six out of the seven photos in this Facebook post are from other events, not Trump’s Tulsa rally.
During President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa on June 20, news cameras occasionally panned to the upper levels of the BOK Center, where he was speaking, to reveal rows of empty seats. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence canceled plans to address supporters outside of the arena as outdoor overflow crowds failed to materialize. The New York Times reported the president was stunned by the empty arena tiers, and a Tulsa official said 6,200 people were in an arena that had a 19,000-seat capacity.
Social media accounts are telling a different story.
"The media won’t show this!" begins one post featuring several photos of crowds. "They are saying the place was empty! Puullease!! Lots of people!!!"
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) With good reason.
The first photo shows Trump during a rally at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., in 2018.
The second photo and fourth photo have been online since 2016, when Trump appeared at a rally in Florida.
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The third photo is from a Trump rally in Orlando in 2019.
The fifth photo is from a January 2020 rally in New Jersey.
The sixth photo does show Trump on the floor of the rally in Tulsa.
And, finally, we couldn’t find the original version of the seventh photo in the Facebook post. But following the lead of a Facebook commenter who debunked most of another post claiming to show crowds in Tulsa, it appears to show Rolling Thunder motorcycle riders in a Virginia parking lot in 2019.
Six out of the seven images in this post claiming to show the crowds at Trump’s Tulsa rally are not from Trump’s Tulsa rally. The sole image from that event isn’t immediately visible in the post; social media users must click through to see it.
We rate this post False.
Correction: This story originally said that the seventh photo shows motorcycle riders in a parking lot in Washington D.C. The parking lot is actually in Virginia.
Our Sources
Facebook post, June 21, 2020
The Hill, Trump, Pence scrap planned outdoor speeches at Tulsa rally, June 20, 2020
The New York Times, The president’s shock at rows of empty seats in Tulsa, June 21, 2020
News/Talk 95.3 MNC, Thousands gather to watch Pres. Trump rally for Mike Braun in Fort Wayne, Nov. 6, 2018
Imgur, 19 September 2016. A tale of two rallies, Sept. 19, 2016
Sharyl Attkisson, Is news media avoiding showing Trump’s large crowds? Sept. 25, 2016
Orlando Sentinel, Lines disappeared and arena seats remained before Trump took stage in Orlando, June 18, 2019
Heavy, Donald Trump’s Fort Myers, Florida rally: the photos you need to see, Sept. 19, 2016
The Yeshiva World, Record-breaker, 175,000 requests for tickets to Trump rally in NJ tonight, Jan. 28, 2020
The New York Times, Trump’s N.J. rally: frigid wait is worth it for president’s fans, Jan. 28, 2020
Bangor Daily News, Trump’s Tulsa rally highlights his vulnerabilities heading into November, June 21, 2020
Coastal Breeze News, Rolling Thunder’s final memorial day ride into Washington DC, May 24, 2019
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Photos show crowds at other events, not Trump’s Tulsa rally
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