() A job posting on Washington, D.C. Craigslist has been circulating on social media, appearing to seek seat-fillers for the upcoming military parade on June 14. But is it real?
President Donald Trump is holding a large military parade to commemorate the Army’s 250th birthday on Saturday, a date that also happens to be the president’s birthday.
Trump has long expressed admiration for militaristic parades that are often held by countries with authoritarian leaders, including China and North Korea. The parade has also been the subject of criticism.
What does the ad say?
The ad purports to be seeking seat fillers for an event on Jun. 14, with potential attendees instructed to wear red, white and blue with gold accessories. People of color are encouraged to apply for “perception control.”
The ad states that attendees will be given a red hat to wear, a fast food lunch will be provided and they will receive a flat fee of $1,000 paid in an unnamed cryptocurrency.
Signs the ad could be a hoax
There are numerous elements in the ad that could indicate a hoax posting, and fake postings for paid attendees at Trump events have been posted before.
The picture accompanying the ad shows a Russian military parade, potentially a nod to Trump’s long-standing entanglements with Russia.
The group purporting to host the event, T-Mellon Events, also doesn’t appear to have any digital footprint or evidence that it exists.
Signs the ad could be real
Trump has allegedly paid people to attend events before, and mega donor Elon Musk is facing legal challenges over payments made to voters during the election.
T-Mellon Events has no footprint, but could have a connection to Trump donor Timothy Mellon. The company said to be providing the cryptocurrency, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT LLC, is the one that administers Trump’s memecoin.
has reached out to Craigslist for information on the posting and has not heard back.
