Fake News Enters Weather Reporting

The video of a reporter for the Weather Channel went viral after a Twitter user posted it showing the reporter Mike Seidel struggling to maintain his balance during Hurricane Florence. However, there was one hiccup: while Seidel looked as if he was going to get toppled by the wind, two people in the background appeared to be walking behind him as though nothing was wrong.

Mike Seidel, a meteorologist, has worked for The Weather Channel since 1992, broadcasting from Wilmington in North Carolina.

 “This is about as nasty as it’s been,” Seidel says during the clip, all the while swaying back and forth holding the microphone as if he had trouble standing still owing to the strong wind.

Many Twitter users suspected the shot was just fabricated and accused the channel of delivering ‘Fake Weather’.

One Twitter user called the report ‘utterly ridiculous’, while many others sarcastically suggested giving the reporter an Oscar for his acting.

The video reminded people of other times when weather people tried to be over dramatic in their reporting.

When asked for an explanation, a spokesperson of the Weather Channel defended its reporter saying, “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.”

The spokesperson, however, might have missed out parts of the video where one of the two people who walked behind the reporter can also be seen walking on grass.

Also, David Shuster, who previously worked as a news anchor for MSNBC, said that he wasn’t buying the explanation.

“I’ve stood on wet grass and concrete while reporting from hurricanes. The Weather Channel defense of their reporter is utter bull—-,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Weather Channel is yet to reply to David Shuster’s accusation.