Scorn on the Fourth of July: PBS Under Fire for D.C. Fireworks Display That Used Old Footage

PBS broadcasted a fireworks display from previous years, confusing many viewers.

PBS has ignited a social media uproar over its broadcast of Washington D.C.'s live Fourth of July fireworks display that was actually a montage of old footage.

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When the program aired Monday night, viewers noticed something odd. The fireworks bursting against the cloudy sky at the time did not match cloudless display on the screen.

In addition, the scaffolding that has covered the Capitol dome for its renovation was nowhere to be found on the TV at times. 

It didn't take an eagle eye to find that the live footage was blended with video from years past.

The idea to splice footage from previous years and 2016 was due to the inclement weather that obscured the of the firework display.

The show tweeted, “It was a combination of the best fireworks from this year and previous years... It was the patriotic thing to do.”

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But viewers thought differently.

Some even took to social media and questioned PBS as to why they did not mention the broadcast’s modifications before it aired.

One user tweeted, "If I wanted that, I would watch Youtube!"

Several hours later, the network took to Twitter to voice its regret over the show, saying “We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”

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