Fake News: Mike Bloomberg Campaign Did Not Make #MovesLikeBloomberg Dance Video

Fact Check

  • by: Alan Duke
Fake News: Mike Bloomberg Campaign Did Not Make #MovesLikeBloomberg Dance Video

Did a Mike Bloomberg presidential campaign intern record and release a video of staffers and supporters doing a #MovesLikeBloomberg dance at a rally in Beverly Hills? No, that's not true: The viral video of an awkward group dance was produced by a comedy sketch group in a Hollywood theater as a parody. It was not connected to Bloomberg's campaign or supporters. Some websites and social media users did not get the joke and wrote about how it was an embarrassment to Bloomberg's campaign.

The vldeo (archived here) was first tweeted by comedian Nick Ciarelli on December 13, 2019, with the message:

Look out #TeamPete because us Bloomberg Heads have our own dance! Taken at the Mike Bloomberg rally in Beverly Hills. #Bloomberg2020 #MovesLikeBloomberg

This is how the video appeared orginally on Twitter:

Cirielli, who performs regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in Hollywood, is not associated with the Bloomberg campaign, although he is associated with online pranks. For this one, he changed his Twitter profile to make it appear he was working as an intern for the Bloomberg campaign, but was fired for posting the video:

Former communications intern @Mike2020 @BostonCollege grad. Lover of all things pizza. #DropOutBloomberg

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Ciarelli's tweets claimed that the video was in response to this video posted by Pete Buttigieg volunteers in September 2019.

Ciarelli didn't give up on the prank despite being called on it. He continued to tweet "evidence" that it was real:

Lead Stories found evidence it was staged in the UCB Theater on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood on Thursday night, December 12, 2019 -- just hours before Ciarelli tweeted it. Check out Ciarelli's name on the list of comics performing there that night at this link.

For good measure, a Bloomberg spokesman tweeted that there was not connection with the campaign:

Like much of the satire published about 2020 politics, those who wanted to believe it was real, did not question it:

Even Breitbart.com, a major conservative news organization took the bait, publishing a story titled 'Bloomberg Heads' Launch Dance Video to Show Grassroots Energy.

The website deleted the story after other websites pointed out their mistake, but other publishers copied and reposted:

A group of supporters for Michael Bloomberg's presidential campaign launched a dance video to show their organizing strength.

The group of mostly white supporters tried to excuse a synchronized dance to the Maroon 5 song "Moves like Jagger" while a booming voice shouted "Bloomberg" every time the song featured the word "Jagger."deo to Show Grassroots Energy

The video was instantly mocked on social media as an astroturf attempt to create buzz for the longshot political candidate who is paying millions of dollars in advertising and organizing to win the Democrat primary.

While a good sense of humor may be needed to make it through the 2020 election cycle, having a skeptical view of unusual content is also required.


  Alan Duke

Editor-in-Chief Alan Duke co-founded Lead Stories after ending a 26-year career with CNN, where he mainly covered entertainment, current affairs and politics. Duke closely covered domestic terrorism cases for CNN, including the Oklahoma City federal building bombing, the UNABOMBER and search for Southeast bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. CNN moved Duke to Los Angeles in 2009 to cover the entertainment beat. Duke also co-hosted a daily podcast with former HLN host Nancy Grace, "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace" and hosted the podcast series "Stan Lee's World: His Real Life Battle with Heroes & Villains." You'll also see Duke in many news documentaries, including on the Reelz channel, CNN and HLN.

Read more about or contact Alan Duke

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