Chris Keane / Reuters
Glenn Beck’s controversial ‘Restoring Honor’ rally on Saturday was bound to spark debate among media outlets. First order of contention: How many people were actually there?
The rally was held at Washington, D.C.’s Lincoln Memorial on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech–an area capable of accommodating a huge number of people. Officially, Beck’s permit for the rally allowed for 300, 000 people. CBS has reported that 87, 000 people came out to hear the Fox talk show host speak, while the New York Times reported that event organizers had pegged the number at around 500, 000. As for FOX News, they’ve refrained from actually offering up a number, instead calling the turnout “huge.”
This isn’t the first time that rally attendance estimates have caused debate–though it’s note-worthy that if more than 250, 000 people attended, the crowd would have exceeded the one present for King’s speech.
Want to learn more about the rally? Check out Katy Steinmetz’ story about the rally for TIME.