A great big bushy beard, a space helmet and dumbbells: this North Carolina TV reporter managed a lot of looks in his latest news report.
Whether it be Snapchat, Facebook or Instagram, people love putting filters over their faces. Sunglasses, wild hairdos, bizarre masks – all virtual, all brilliant (well, maybe not all).
However, there are times when professionalism is more essential than a fake purple moustache. Alas, Justin Hinton ended up in a hilariously sticky spot when he went live with Facebook filters turned on – sparking a pretty versatile broadcast, to say the least.
WLOS ABC 13/FacebookThe 31-year-old WLOS ABC 13 anchor was reporting on ‘the first legitimate snowfall we’ve seen this season’, however, the details of his Facebook Live broadcast were lost amid a sea of animated looks, ‘wearing’ a range of things from a wizard hat to dog ears.
Hinton became aware of his unfortunate error while reading the viewer comments afterwards, as he can be heard asking his colleague: ‘Wait, Misty, did I have a weird face… what is it doing to my face?’
WLOS ABC 13/Facebook He later posted a collage of the various filters he rotated through in the video, and offered up the following explanation:
Right before going live on Facebook on the WLOS ABC 13 station account to talk about snow, I somehow activated a filter generator. The photographer 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 realise it until I stepped off camera and saw the comments where people were talking about the faces. My bosses, coworkers, friends, PIOs and more called/texted saying how funny it was, so here you go.
The video was reposted by the station last Thursday, February 20, with the caption: ‘When you’re trying to do a serious Facebook Live about the weather and you accidentally tap the Mystery Mask filter. Poor Justin Hinton.’ It quickly went viral, racking up more than nearly 160,000 views, 2,500 reactions and 200 comments.
Thanks everyone for playing. Here is your prize:https://www.facebook.com/News13/videos/214773529637853/Backstory:…
Posted by Justin Hinton on Thursday, February 20, 2020
Some viewers even think it should be a regular addition to the station’s output. One user wrote: ‘I think every on scene weather report should use this filter!!!! They’d reel in the viewers for sure!!!!’
Thankfully, Hinton knows how to take a joke. ‘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!’ he wrote.
Think of the positives: at least he wasn’t reporting on a murder.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.