The show A Capitol Fourth and its network PBS are under fire today after streaming their live Fourth of July show last night with faked fireworks. For weeks, A Capitol Fourth mounted a social media network campaign that consisted of the hashtag #July4thPBS and built high expectations for their live performances that would honor the USO, America’s 240 th birthday and military personnel as well as their families. The live performances included musical guests such as Smokey Robinson, Jackie Evancho, and Cassadee Pope. Tom Bergeron hosted the 36 th annual event that was to be followed by a brilliant, display of fireworks igniting over the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial. Earlier on Monday, when people took to social media networks and questioned whether the show would go on in lieu of overcast, cloudy skies and rain, Tom Bergeron tweeted that it would. He never mentioned they would fill in fake firework displays instead of showing the dismal, live event that took place under rain-soaked, Washington, D.C. skies.
Tom Bergeron previews PBS’s ‘A Capitol Fourth’ fireworks show: No, he’s not worried about rain https://t.co/q0ei2oKjRl #July4thPBS
— Tom Bergeron (@Tom_Bergeron) July 4, 2016
We are rain or shine! In the event of severe weather, the US Capitol Police will be making any further decisions. https://t.co/1dxC6dVQGG
— A Capitol Fourth (@July4thPBS) July 4, 2016
It appeared that the show would go on, and when A Capitol Fourth aired live, you could see people in the audience shielding themselves from the dreary weather in head-to-toe rain coats. Despite the weather, the show went off without a hitch and people tweeted their approval of the performances and tributes; that is until the fireworks began to illuminate the sky.
When the fireworks show began, people quickly realized PBS faked the fireworks display and that it wasn’t being streamed live. Due to the heavy promotion of the #July4thPBS hashtag, people began tweeting furiously their comments, observations, and complaints. The public knew that PBS was not live streaming the fireworks show from Washington, D.C.
Watch Jackie Evancho Perform God Bless America (Video)
Here is video footage of the fireworks display that took place during A Capitol Fourth on July 4.
In fact, so many people were upset that PBS faked the fireworks on the Fourth of July that PBS had to issue an apology. They have defended the actions of splicing in previous fireworks from A Capitol Fourth and called the move “patriotic.”
PBS Apologizes “For Any Confusion” Over Its Use Of Old Fireworks Footage In ‘A Capitol Fourth’ https://t.co/teFvbuXv9t #Hollywood
— HollywoodSouth Blog (@HollywoodSBlog) July 5, 2016
One of the main clues that tipped viewers off to the faked fireworks was that the scaffolding would disappear then reappear.
I knew public broadcasting was powerful. Until tonight l I didn’t know it could clear cloudy skies & scaffolding. #capitolfourth
— Jennifer A. Dlouhy (@jendlouhyhc) July 5, 2016
Yeah, the Capitol dome scaffolding keeps disappearing & reappearing on #July4thPBS . Best worst #capitolfourth EVAH.
— Laura Seay (@texasinafrica) July 5, 2016
@July4thPBS Only in DC could a PBS show become a scandal #July4thPBS #capitolfourth
— thedcfloridian (@thedcfloridian) July 5, 2016
PBS released the following statement through their official Twitter account July4thPBS .
“We are very proud of the 2016 A Capitol Fourth celebration. Because this year’s fireworks were difficult to see due to the weather, we made the decision to intercut fireworks footage from previous A Capitol Fourth concerts for the best possible television viewing experience. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”
— A Capitol Fourth (@July4thPBS) July 5, 2016
What do you think about the A Capitol Fourth controversy? Do you feel that splicing in previous year’s fireworks was the patriotic thing to do? Should PBS have streamed the fireworks as they were live, dismal as they may have been? Do you think that since PBS faked the fireworks you are less likely to watch A Capitol Fourth live streaming in the future?
[Photo by Bogdanhoda/Shutterstock]
