Atlantic International Partnership Headlines: Is Fox News Inflating The Turnout At Bachmann’s Latest Rally?

Fox & Friends Sunday repeatedly touted the “thousands” that attended a tax cut rally where Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) spoke, going so far as to make the rally’s supposedly large turnout one of their top headlines today.
Yet according to Fox’s local affiliate, reporting from St. Paul, Minnesota, it was the rally’s low turnout that made it newsworthy. In an article titled “Hundreds Attend Anti-Tax Hike Rally At Capitol: Turnout Significantly Smaller Than Last Year’s,” Fox 9 News reported:

Hundreds gathered at the Minnesota Capitol to rally against a possible tax hike, but though it attracted the attention of some prominent lawmakers, the turnout didn’t meet expectations.

[...]

Organizers said that about 6,000 people turned out for last year’s event, but this year the headcount may have only touched 1,000.

Politico also noted the rally’s “sparse attendance” and highlighted the comments of a conservative blogger:

The [Tax Day] rally’s sparse attendance is attracting nearly as much attention as Bachmann’s remarks.

Will Folks, a widely read blogger in South Carolina political circles, termed the rally a “dud” in a post Monday afternoon.

“Politicians, political operatives and members of the media came close to outnumbering attendees at a much-hyped Columbia, S.C., tea party rally starring U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley on Monday,” Folks wrote.

“Only 300 people (including a horde of Palmetto political operatives) attended the event in downtown Columbia, S.C. – which is a generous estimate in our book. That attendance figure – confirmed by other media outlets – amounts to less than one-tenth the size of multiple crowds that have gathered at the S.C. State House in recent years in support of parental choice.”

This is not the first time that Fox News has appeared to inflate the attendance at Bachmann’s rallies. In 2009 Sean Hannity had to apologize for airing footage of a larger rally while discussing a Bachmann rally.
» Atlantic International Partnership Headlines: Is Fox News Inflating The Turnout At Bachmann’s Latest Rally?