Reporter’s live on-air mistake
This forecast is cloudy with a chance of cartoon effects.
A North Carolina TV reporter gave viewers a different perspective on the news after accidentally switching on Facebook Live filters before going live, as seen in a now-viral video.
WLOS ABC 13 anchor Justin Hinton, 31, says he thought he was delivering a serious report about "the first legitimate snowfall we've seen this season".
Instead, the Charlotte journalist's presentation went hilariously awry after he inadvertently turned on the Facebook mask filter, causing him to be bombarded with various animated looks during the broadcast.
When you're trying to do a serious Facebook Live about the weather and you accidentally tap the Mystery Mask filter. Poor Justin Hinton. 🤣 More on this story: http://bit.ly/2PexYkK
Posted by WLOS ABC 13 on Thursday, 20 February 2020
In the one-minute clip posted by WLOS ABC 13, Hinton can be seen reporting on snowfall in Asheville, completely oblivious to the fact that he's being digitally outfitted with googly eyes, a wizard hat, dog ears, barbells and more.
The Emmy-winning journalist only became aware of his animated makeover after reading the flurry of viewer reactions on Facebook.
"Wait, Misty, did I have a weird face?" a flabbergasted Hinton could be heard asking a colleague off-camera. After a long pause, he said, "Oh, there are special effects on the phone."
Needless to say, Hinton's Facebook filter-bombing quickly went viral on social media, racking up nearly 160,000 views, 2500 reactions and 200 comments since it was posted last Thursday.
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The video's caption reads, "When you're trying to do a serious Facebook Live about the weather and you accidentally tap the Mystery Mask filter. Poor Justin Hinton."
"I think every on-scene weather report should use this filter," wrote one commenter. "They'd reel in the viewers for sure."
"Loved the 'Weather Wizard'. Good job Justin Hinton," commented another on the cartoon wizard-hat effect.
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Fortunately, it appears that Hinton is taking the goofy incident in stride. "If you can't laugh at yourself, what's the point of laughter?" he wrote in a Facebook explanation of the mishap. "It still makes me laugh."
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
