Photos show 65,000 at peak of S.F. rally Aerial study casts doubt on estimates of 200,000

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 2/21/2003 | Wyatt Buchanan

[skeeter]

San Francisco -- A survey using sophisticated aerial photography of Sunday's anti-war march and rally in San Francisco has produced results that indicate a far smaller crowd than the 200,000 protesters estimated by police and event organizers.

The results of the independent survey, commissioned by The Chronicle and SFGate.com, cast doubt on traditional counting methods and contradict the crowd estimate of 200,000, which was reported in this newspaper and news media around the world. Crowd size in a demonstration is important because organizers tend to use it as evidence of support for their cause.

In a series of detailed, high-resolution photographs, the aerial survey shows that around 65,000 people were in the area of Market Street and Civic Center Plaza at 1:45 p.m. Sunday, which organizers said was when crowd size was at its peak. That number does not take into account marchers who dropped out before or arrived after the moment the photo sequence was shot. Calculating a precise number of protesters for the entire rally is not possible from this survey, but the result is much more accurate than the visual scan method most commonly used by police and organizers.(rest of article)

[skeeter]

Some refreshing (and unusual) honesty from a leftwing source.

[finnman69]

I also predict that a similar analysis in NYC would show a crowd of no more than 50,000.

[AppyPappy]

The London Rally looked way short of estimates.

[Drango]

We had a great counter-protest...Last time I counted, we had just under 1,000 FReepers heckling those peacniks.

[Gopher Broke]

No, those are no longer PEACENIKS...now call them APPEASENIKS.

And the Freeper crowd looked more like 300,000..using my million-man-march calculator....

[concentric circles]

I had a feeling this was the case as the one aerial view of the square I saw appeared to show far fewer participants than the last demonstration, but there was no info regarding the time of the photo. And now they are pushing back the next demonstration. I guess the movement is loosing steam, not gaining, as the American press would have us believe.

[Question_Assumptions]

And, of course, your 1,000 (if true) would be counted as part of the protest. So that probably compensates for the "people who dropped out early" problem.

[skeeter]

The truth won't matter now. Mike Farrell et al have already gotten their mileage out of the "millions of protestors" line.

[blastdad51]

65K instead of 200K!!! who'd of ever thought they'd fudge thier numbers?

[CatoRenasci]

fascinating.

[apackof2]

Yes, but you'll never see this on CNN or NBC/ABC/CBS

[fiscal_fish]

200,000 protesters estimated by...event organizers

Left-wing protests and exaggerated attendance go together like apple pie and ice cream, or Marx and Engels.

[smith288]

[smith288]

That picture could almost be used by military target practice... haha...

(disclaimer: I would never recommend or support bombing of morons because of their political beliefs /end disclaimer)

[RogueIsland]

Oh, that's a crowd measurement system. I had the fleeting hope it was a bombsite.

[skeeter]

Left-wing protests and exaggerated attendance go together like apple pie and ice cream, or Marx and Engels.

Or lying and weasels.

[TheBattman]

Probably the same folks counting that gathering as counted the "million-man march" and the "million moron-mom march".

[Drango]

"Oh my word. Come on, that's ridiculous," said Bill Hackwell, spokesman for International ANSWER, one of the groups that organized Sunday's march and rally.

Why can't the Chron say...?

one of the communist front groups that organized Sunday's march and rally.

[HighRoadToChina]

So we were ONLY outnumbered 1,000 to 1 instead of 3,076 to 1.

Why is all this exerpting? Only LA Times and Wash. Compost--are the two who we need to except? Right?

[HighRoadToChina]

That's C.A.N.S.W.E.R. OR Communist A.N.S.W.E.R. Pronounced CANCER!