July 4th fraud: PBS airs old fireworks footage in ‘live' broadcast

<p>It looks like PBS' "live" feed of fireworks from Washington, D.C., on Monday wasn't completely live. </p><p>The network's <a href="http://www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth/about/the-concert/" target="_blank">"A Capitol Fourth"</a> Independence Day show was supposed to be a star-studded event capped off with a fantastic display of fireworks. </p><p>The problem? The weather in D.C. didn't want to cooperate. </p><p>Most of D.C. was overcast and foggy, and the marvelous display of fireworks was partially swallowed up by the cloudy night sky. </p><p>That's when PBS execs decided to take action and splice in some footage of last year's fireworks — and viewers noticed. </p><p><b>SEE MORE: </b><b><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/the-evolution-of-us-flags-in-80-seconds/" target="_blank">"The Evolution Of US Flags (In 80 Seconds)"</a></b></p><p>After getting called out on social media about it, <a href="https://twitter.com/July4thPBS/status/750139334246952963" target="_blank">the outlet posted</a>: "With the weather being overcast we showed a combination of the best fireworks from this year and previous years. It was the patriotic thing to do."</p><p>But PBS' "patriotic" decision got some mixed reviews. </p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/capitolfourth/posts/1265017663516059" target="_blank">Some viewers said</a> they were fine with it, writing that the live fireworks would have been hard to see with all the clouds in the sky. </p><p>Others felt a bit cheated. <a href="https://twitter.com/ThomasRainerDC/status/750140122155347968" target="_blank">One Twitter user said</a>: "@July4thPBS How is using stock video patriotic? If I wanted that, I'd watch YouTube. #fake #July4thPBS" </p><p>After the show, PBS issued a longer statement saying, <a href="https://twitter.com/July4thPBS/status/750202348811784192" target="_blank">in part</a>, "We apologize for any confusion this may have caused."</p><p>Washington, D.C., is consistently ranked as <a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/best-4th-of-july-celebrations/4651/" target="_blank">one of the top cities</a> to celebrate the nation's independence. For PBS' sake, hopefully the weather will decide to cooperate a little bit better next year. </p><p><i>This video includes images from Getty Images. </i></p><hr><b>Trending stories at <a href="http://www.newsy.com">Newsy.com</a></b><ul class="inline-related-links"><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/italian-homeless-man-arrested-in-the-death-of-us-college-student/">Italian Homeless Man Arrested In The Death Of US College Student</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/where-do-you-buy-a-ghost-town-craigslist/">Where Do You Buy A Ghost Town? Craigslist</a></li><li><a href="http://www.newsy.com/videos/the-best-part-of-the-fourth-of-july-can-be-the-worst-for-some-veterans-1/">The Best Part Of The Fourth Of July Can Be The Worst For Some Veterans</a></li></ul>