Hundreds of people lined O’Connell Street last night for what turned out to be a hoax Halloween parade.

The crowds gathered in the city centre after a fake website announcement began gaining traction on Google and TikTok.

In the end, Gardaí were forced to announce that no “contrary to information circulated online” no parade was scheduled.

They asked all those on O’Connell Street to “disperse safely”.

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/KmVPFKEZbP

— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) October 31, 2024

“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,” they wrote.

“All those gathered on O’Connell Street in expectation of such a parade are asked to disperse safely.”

In a post online, Social Democrat TD Gary Garron noted the high number of people taken in by the hoax shows how popular a Halloween parade would be in the city.

“It must be said, the fact a hoax social media account can bring hundreds of people into the city centre for a fake parade, should be seen as a sign that there is an appetite in Dublin for a well-organised annual Halloween Parade,” he said.

The fake website promised a parade running from Parnell Square to Temple Bar.

The people behind the site gave it a search-friendly title, leading to it ranking high up on Google and prompting TikTok users to share the information.

The content on the site appears to be largely AI-generated.