Reporter struggles to stand as two guys casually stroll behind him
A day after the Weather Channel was praised for its outstanding green screen graphics depicting Hurricane Florence’s 10-foot storm surge, a reporter for the network is facing allegations he exaggerated wind speeds out in the field.
In the report shot in South Carolina Friday, a journalist is seen rocking back and forth fighting to stand in the face of 75-mile per hour winds.
Twitter users, however, keenly observed the journalist appeared to be exaggerating the intensity of the wind speeds as two men casually strolled into the shot behind him apparently impervious to Florence’s devastating winds.
Does “CNN own the Weather Channel?” asked one user, accusing the network of airing “fake news.”
And the hits kept rolling in:
This dude from @weatherchannel is straight up faking this. He can barely stand up while 2 dudes just walk by in the background. I think that’s why producers panned ouryes. This storm is bad but literally don’t need #fakewind added to the madness #HurricanFlorence #FakeNews
So dramatic! Dude from the weather channel bracing for his life, as 2 dudes just stroll past. #HurricaneFlorence
Over exaggeration vs The truth... twitter.com/gourdnibler/st…
Weather Channel dude: *about to be blown off his feet by the wind*
Two locals: *casually walking down the street taking cell phone vids*
I love you North Carolina pic.twitter.com/rEQtIupi5m
Performance Art at its finest. Watch these dudes casually strolling by about halfway through the video. Meteorologists loveeee drama @weatherchannel pic.twitter.com/o9J6wh3IXf
Hilarious! @weatherchannel reporter fakes intensity of #HurricaneFlorence wind – gets caught ift.tt/2My8Ktk
BUSTED!!! #Weather_Channel reporter goes viral after appearing to fake extreme wind conditions dlvr.it/QkDXyT via @twitchyteam pic.twitter.com/UfERQ8AhoT
Reporter struggling in the wind while the other guys just casually stroll past.
Weather Channel guy pretends like he's about to get blown away by #HurricaneFlorence while two dudes casually stroll by in the background. Classic. ihe.art/sK85S7o
Others compared it to the time a Today Show reporter used a canoe to illustrate high flood waters, only to have two men stroll into the frame with water up to their ankles.
In a comment to BuzzFeed, a Weather Channel spokesperson defended their reporter, Mike Seidel, claiming he was tired and struggling because he wasn’t standing on concrete like the men walking behind him.
“It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted,” the network told BuzzFeed.
