MSNBC Boston Protest Image: 2017 “No Kings” Photo Misattribution Claim Debunked

Nationwide “No Kings” Protests Draw Millions as AI-Generated Misinformation Spreads

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators flooded city streets across America on Saturday in a coordinated “national day of peaceful protest” against the Trump administration, with participants voicing opposition to the president’s policies in what organizers are calling one of the largest political mobilizations in recent U.S. history.

In Boston alone, an estimated 125,000 people gathered at Boston Common, making it one of the city’s largest political gatherings in years. The nationwide protests spanned more than 2,500 cities, with organizers estimating total participation at around 7 million people.

The demonstrations, collectively branded as “No Kings” protests, attracted substantial crowds in major metropolitan areas including New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Diego. In New York, protesters marched down Fifth Avenue carrying signs opposing the administration’s policies.

However, as images and videos of the demonstrations circulated online, a false claim about the authenticity of footage from the Boston protest quickly spread across social media platforms. The misinformation originated when Grok, the AI chatbot developed for Elon Musk’s platform X (formerly Twitter), incorrectly claimed that aerial footage broadcast by MSNBC was actually archival footage from a 2017 rally.

This inaccurate assertion gained traction among right-wing commentators and Trump supporters, who amplified the claim while suggesting media outlets were deliberately exaggerating the size of the protests by using dated images.

BBC Verify reporter Thomas Copeland conducted a thorough fact-check of the footage in question and conclusively determined that the images were authentic and captured during Saturday’s demonstration in Boston. Through reverse image searches and comparison with footage from local media outlets, the BBC confirmed that no versions of these images existed online prior to October 18, 2025.

“Grok’s assertion is incorrect. The exact same aerial view of the crowd can be seen in multiple other videos of the protest in Boston posted by local news outlets yesterday,” explained BBC Verify’s Shayan Sardarizadeh in a post on X.

The incident highlights the growing challenge of combating misinformation generated by artificial intelligence tools. Without human moderation or fact-checking mechanisms, AI systems like Grok can inadvertently produce and disseminate false information that quickly spreads through social networks, particularly when the claims align with existing political narratives.

Despite the clarification from fact-checkers, many social media users continued to accuse MSNBC of using deceptive visuals to exaggerate the protests. The network has not yet issued a public response to these allegations.

The footage at the center of the controversy shows large crowds at Boston Common with banners and stage setups that match those seen in other verified videos from the same event. Multiple local news outlets captured similar aerial perspectives of the gathering.

Time-lapse videos from other cities, including Chicago, have also circulated online, providing additional documentation of the scale of the protests. These videos show crowds building throughout the day as participants gathered to listen to speeches and march through downtown areas.

The “No Kings” protests represent a significant moment of public expression following months of political tension. The demonstrations’ name itself reflects concerns among participants about executive power and democratic norms under the current administration.

As images of the protests continue to circulate online, the incident serves as a reminder of the complex information landscape facing media consumers, where even visual evidence can become subject to doubt through the rapid spread of AI-generated misinformation.