Video from music festival in Austin shared as Trump's recent rally in Salem

What is the claim?

A clip alleging to be from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rally in Salem, Virginia, is going viral on social media ahead of the United States presidential election on November 5, 2024.

An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the clip on November 4, a day before the polls, captioning it "Donald Trump Rally, Salem, Virginia." Another user wrote, "TRUMP…..Salem, Virginia tonight….TELL ME AGAIN HOW KAMALA IS WINNING."  Archived versions of similar posts can be found here, here, and here. 

 Screenshots of the social media posts. (X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the viral clip is not from Trump's recent campaign rally but shows the Austin City Limits Music Festival, held in October 2024. 

What does the video show?

A reverse image search led us to a TikTok account of a music festival named aclmusicfestival, which posted a longer video of the viral clip on October 14, 2024. The video (archived here) was captioned, "@chappell roan makes our world stop." We can match the first 10 seconds of this video to the viral clip. However, the viral video is reversed and shows the stage first, then the crowd. 

The video found on ACL music festival's TikTok account. (Source: TikTok/Screenshot)

We could also match a few pointers in the background, such as the flag, the stage, the canopy between them, and the shelter-like structures on the side. 

A comparison of the TikTok video and the viral clip. (Source: TikTok/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Comparison of viral video to TikTok video by ACL Music Festival. (Source: X/TikTok/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

Similarly, the festival's official account on X posted an image from the event  (archived here) on October 14, saying, "Two weekends of the one & only ACL Fest. There's so much we could say, but we'll start with this: THANK YOU, AUSTIN!" This image also matched the scene in the viral video.

Austin City Limits Music Festival takes place annually in Zilker Park, Austin, Texas, on two consecutive three-day weekends. In 2024, it took place on October 4-6 and October 11-13. 

A local newspaper in Texas, San Antonio Express, reported on the event and the video shared by ACL. They noted that the festival drew about 450,000 people over its two three-day weekend festival.

From the above sources, it is clear that the video is from the music festival, and a voiceover of 'We Want Trump' has been overlaid on the clip. 

Trump rally in Salem, Virginia

On November 2, 2024, Trump held a campaign rally at Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia. USA Today reported that the crowd filled the nearly 7,000-seat arena, leaving only some empty spots at the back of the floor. Getty Images also shared images from the rally, which showed that it was held in an indoor facility, unlike the viral video. 

The verdict

The viral video shows the music festival held in Austin in October and is unrelated to Trump's campaign rally in Salem, Virginia, held on November 2, 2024.

Follow Logically Facts' coverage and fact-checking of the U.S. Election 2024 here.