TV Reporter Accidentally Gives Weather Report with Facebook Live Cats Filter On

Facebook Live’s filters are usually a fun diversion, but people probably didn’t think they’d [...]

Facebook Live's filters are usually a fun diversion, but people probably didn't think they'd be seeing them during a news broadcast. Down in Asheville, North Carolina, Justin Hinton was all ready to deliver the weather report, but there was one tiny problem. The reporter went live without realizing that his entire segment would have googly eyes, a Gundam helmet, and a weird Cats filter over the top of it. Needless to say, some of the viewers were absolutely delighted by how strange it was, others were completely lost because of the changing headwear and graphics. If those selections weren't enough, there was also a wizard hat and bears, a pink mustache, and others rolling through there as well.

Adding to the unintentional hilarity, this was supposed to be a very serious read. Asheville was poised for the first big snowfall of the season, and then the filter fiasco happened. If Hinton realized his mistake, then his efforts to push through and give the news are worth commending. But, it seems as though his audience was more entranced by all that strange headwear. Near the end of the broadcast, the reporter realized what happened and said, "Now, I'm excited to look back at this video."

WLOS ABC 13, the station in question, had a little bit of fun with the video on their Facebook page. They captioned Hinton's report, "When you're trying to do a serious Facebook Live about the weather and you accidentally tap the Mystery Mask filter." It is nice to hear that the station has a bit of a sense of humor. Also lucky for Hinton is the fact that he wasn't covering a more serious topic with a bright pink mustache or googly eyes, because that would have been a bad look.

Hinton went so far as to explain himself when the story came up. "Right before going live… I somehow activated a filter generator," Hinton explained on his Facebook page. "The photog I was working with said something about the screen having weird faces. He didn't elaborate, so I said it would probably go away. Needless to say, it did not go away."

"I didn't realize it until I stepped off-camera and saw the comments where people were talking about the faces," he added. "My bosses, coworkers, friends, PIOs and more called/texted saying how funny it was, so here you go. If you can't laugh at yourself, what's the point of laughter? I hope you enjoyed the snow day, and remember to smile and laugh!"

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