Fuzzy Math: Are Conservative Bloggers Lying About the Size of DC Protest March?

Some of the images from today's conservative anti-imaginary-socialism/pretend-governmental-healthcare-takeover protest march are absolutely disturbing (see, e.g. Think Progress). Perhaps, the rest of the country can take solace in the fact that the latest news reports indicate that a much smaller number of protestors attended the event than many conservative bloggers have reported.

Several conservative websites have stated that between 1.5 million and 2 million people attended the march. Some of these blogs cite ABC News as a source for the 2 million figure (see, e.g., Michelle Malkin). ABC News, however, says that conservatives are misquoting its reports and has released a statement reiterating that 60,000-70,000 protestors attended. Here is a snip:

Matt Kibbe, president of FreedomWorks, the group that organized the event, said on stage at the rally that ABC News was reporting that 1 million to 1.5 million people were in attendance. At no time did ABC News, or its affiliates, report a number anywhere near as large.

ABCNews.com reported an approximate figure of 60,000 to 70,000 protesters, attributed to the Washington, D.C., fire department. In its reports, ABC News Radio described the crowd as "tens of thousands."

Malkin also reports that the DC Police Department estimated that 1.2 million persons attended the march. Most of the major news outlets, however, are reporting the same range of attendees as ABC News (see, e.g., New York Times).