A fake photo of Philly’s No Kings 3 march went viral. Stay sharp as protests grow.

How can you tell it’s AI? Look. The geography on the ground is off. It just doesn’t match our park architecture or the layout of the streets. The base of City Hall looks fuzzy and smoky. There’s no Love Park off the northwest corner of City Hall. The streets are invisible under a densely uniform crowd, packing most of the frame. There are no large banners and only two American flags visible, and the signs are all tidy white rectangles with garbled indications of black text.

Anyone familiar with Philly who took a moment to reality-test this image could have seen that it’s fake. And anyone who was actually in the crowd should have known that while the Philly protest was huge (estimated at 40,000 people), it didn’t look at all like it does in that image.

Keep your guard up

But even if you didn’t know any of that (lots of people wouldn’t! That’s fine!), we still could’ve rooted this out as fake. It was being shared without any attribution to a photographer or original source—just the photo, accompanied by comments like “Wow! Philly!” It was not being shared by any professional local journalism outlets. If you can’t tell where something originated, or it’s uncredited, be suspicious, especially if it’s regarding a major news event, and especially if it’s eye-popping.

I understand why fake images of huge crowds are exciting and convincing. By early counts, at least 8 million people participated in more than 3,000 protests reaching all 50 states on March 28 (not to mention protests on every continent, including five people in Antarctica). That is a historic number. When we see fantastic crowd images, we want to believe it, and boost it—especially as top legacy outlets like the New York Times go out of their way to downplay and criticize this movement.

But if we really want pro-democracy protests to thrive, we need to keep our guard up—especially when AI is showing us something that we want to believe. It’s easy to document that these protests truly were massive, even just from millions of photos shared by the participants themselves.

There are so many harmful narratives about the current movement to end the unconstitutional agenda of Trump and his corrupt MAGA cabinet and cowering members of Congress, from leftist cynics’ whine that mass peaceful protest doesn’t matter to right-wingers’ weird canard that anti-Trump protestors are being paid (I have not yet received my check). Sharing AI-generated images of huge crowds fuels democracy’s foes, making it easier for them to claim that the protests are not a genuine indicator of American sentiment.

True views of No Kings

That’s why I always personally share pictures of big protest events like this after attending, and it’s part of why BSR brings you views of Philly protests (like last April’s “Hands Off” rally, the original No Kings Day last June, and No Kings 2 in October).

Several BSR writers joined No Kings events in Center City, Germantown, Delco, and Wilmington, in unseasonably cold and windy weather.

“It was by far the largest protest I’ve attended in Philly,” said writer Anna Fiscarelli-Mintz. She noted that the crowd was quieter than past marches (less chanting and cheering), and I agree. She guessed that could be a symptom of “general exhaustion at the overwhelming volume and frequency of injustices, atrocities, and outrages committed by those claiming to represent the United States.” We both noted a diverse all-ages crowed, including disabled folks and people from many different activist groups.

Writer Cass Lewis arrived late to the protest in Wilmington, which featured speakers like US Rep. Sarah McBride at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park. “The place was full of peaceful protestors with a range of No Kings signs expressing their support for democracy,” she said. “The vibe was relaxed,” including drumming and a choral performance of “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from Les Mis. “I appreciated the theatrical flair, which made this protest memorable.”

“I got sick of yelling at the TV!” writer Stephen Silver heard an older man say at the Newtown Square No Kings rally. He counted about 100 participants near a busy road. Some drivers honked in support and others gave the finger, reflecting the area’s divided political makeup. It was a mostly older, mostly white crowd, with “a lot of American flags and a lot of signs referencing opposition to the Iran war, along with references to the Epstein files.”

There was one pro-Trump counter-protestor, Steve says, with a handwritten sign denouncing rally-goers as communists and socialists. One rally never changed the world, but “I got the sense a lot of people were happy to have a chance to participate in the political process, in a part of Delco where political considerations aren’t always discussed out loud,” Steve said.

Writer Walt Maguire, who started the day at the protest on the Parkway, noted extra cars on SEPTA trains to get people in, lots of port-o-potties, and merch. “The crowds were as friendly and calm as they were the last two times,” Walt observed, with a younger demographic this time. Later in the afternoon, he headed to a rally of about 50 people in Germantown’s Maplewood Mall, which seemed more racially diverse than the downtown march. Local poet LindoYes performed, and there was a DJ while neighbors visited. “Then a sanitation truck passed up Armat Street and blew its horn, which seems to be a No Kings Day tradition in Philly.”

A nonviolent mass movement builds

Writer Julien Suaudeau reflected on No Kings as a French Philadelphian: “In France, where I am from, the king’s head rolled in 1793. The episode of political violence known as the Terror, meant to defend the young French republic, made thousands of victims in the months that followed the execution,” he said. “Ten years later, France had an emperor. The No Kings rallies are necessary because they are peaceful and invested in the long term. I believe in non-violence as the best response to the violence of powers that aspire to become absolute.”

I likewise believe the No Kings movement will continue to gain momentum, and many activists, organizers, canvassers, influencers, artists, demonstrators, journalists, and speakers working the crowd on Saturday helped to ensure the mobilization will go beyond a single protest. But false and misleading images and narratives will continue to proliferate, too. Ultimately the best way to defend yourself is to plug into communities actively involved in pro-democracy work, and be sure to attend protests yourself, if you’re able. That way, no lie and no AI can overcome what millions of us see for ourselves.

Editor’s note: Our team is proud to announce that our Readers Decide campaign has met its initial $10,000 goal, securing our spring coverage. But if you haven’t given yet, there is still time to join the campaign (running through March 31), and secure our coverage for summer.