30+ Funny News Anchors Fails On Live TV That Surprised Us

Published: Oct 19, 2023

Welcome to the world of live broadcasts, where things can easily get out of hand. News anchors are trained to present the day’s events seriously. However, these unforgettable moments in television history show that even they can’t avoid the occasional slip-up.

From wardrobe malfunctions to hilarious reactions, we’ve compiled some of the funniest moments that have made their way onto our screen and into our memory. So, grab a cup of coffee and settle in for some side-splitting laughs as we look at the funniest news anchor moments.

Kisses From the Captain

This poor reporter was just trying to do her job when THE Captain Jack Sparrow came out of nowhere and planted a kiss on the side of her face. Of course, this was not actually the actor Johnny Depp, but the event was shocking nonetheless.

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Source: YouTube

She was horrified and quickly recoiled from the random man. Unfortunately, the entire uncomfortable interaction was caught on camera and lives on the internet for all to see.

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She Could't Believe it Either

One news anchor was so shocked at the police sketch on the screen that she was almost lost for words. And we can’t say that we blame her.

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Source: YouTube

As it turns out, the sketch was not an actual police sketch but it was unclear if the picture that appeared on-screen was in fact a prank or some kind of mistake. Regardless, it lives on in internet history forever!

It's Good Luck!

Things don’t always go to plan. This news coverage segment was a true testament to that fact. The sign language interpreter was the victim of one owl’s poop and unfortunately for him, the entire world got to experience the mess on his shoulder.

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Source: YouTube

To make matter worse, someone explain that an owl pooping on you is good luck! We are pretty sure he didn’t feel all that lucky when his favorite jacket was ruined.

Just Flopping Around

This reporter was out in the field (so to speak) and tried showing the camera a large fish which they had just caught on a fishing boat. However, she quickly realized the fish was still alive!

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Source: YouTube

When the fish started flopping around it startled her so much that she fell back into the lap of the fisherman on the boat. Neither could have expected that! Things don’t always go as planned.

The Unforeseen Guest

A reporter, Wendy Burch, was doing a segment on LA’s bid to host the 2024 Olympics, and she had no plans for a guest appearance. What happened shook her up, and you wouldn’t believe it too. Wendy Burch was concentrating hard on her report and didn’t notice a random guy creeping up behind her.

Source: YouTube

It wasn’t till he was breathing down her neck that she realized he was there and jumped. With a scream of terror, Wendy Burch turned to look at the unexpected guest. Although she tried to laugh it off, the embarrassing scene went viral.

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News Anchor Can't Help Herself

The news reports on tons of important stories and headlines that we need to be in the know about. But, not every story is a winner and not everyone is important. This new anchor was reporting on a story that made her laugh so hard she could barely continue the story.

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Source: YouTube

Apparently, a buffet brawl broke out between 2 individuals and this was a news-worthy story that made headlines. The reporter started laughing so hard at the incredulity of the thing that she almost couldn’t continue reporting.

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Talking (And Maintaining Balance)

A Dutch reporter was interviewing the mayor next to the ocean and got more than she bargained for. The reporter was filming for a promotional video for an Easter festival and lost her balance while leaning up against the side of the boat.

Source: YouTube

Although she tried to hold onto the rope next to her, she lost her balance and plunged into the cold ocean waters instead. The mayor failed to pull her back up with his mayoral chain. We think it’s pretty funny, and so does the internet.

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A Buggy Moment

Jenny Ketchmark is a famous reporter on Fox59, but she got her moment of fame and shared that moment with a bug. Jenny was giving her news report when the producers switched to a tower camera overlooking central Indianapolis. 

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Source: YouTube

Just then, an angry hornet attacked the camera lens, and Jennifer screamed so loud that the bears in Alaska heard her. She predicted the moment would make it to the internet. She wasn’t wrong. 

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Alec Baldwin Goes Berserk on a Reporter

Alec Baldwin had a total meltdown and started screaming and threatening a local reporter for FOX 5 News. She insisted that the reporter had tried to hit his wife. The reporter maintained that she hadn’t but he only get increasingly more upset.

Source: YouTube

He insists he will press charges against her for assaulting his wife. Eventually, he walks off, telling the reporter to “Get the f*** out of here!”. The entire thing was caught on camera and streamed live on the news.

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Spiderman Misses His Cue

Good Morning America does not shy away from their skits and parodies. But, that doesn’t always mean they go perfectly. In this bit, the show’s host, Sarah Haines, was meant to “faint” into Spiderman’s arms. But, Spidey must have been distracted because he missed his cue.

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Source: YouTube

As a result, Sarah falls right onto the ground! Spiderman tries to save her before she lands on her face, but he was just too late. That’s not very “friendly neighborhood Spiderman” of him! He probably could have done with a few more practices.

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Wardrobe Malfunction

Things went awry when this weather woman noticed something was way off about her dress. When she looked down, it was gone and she almost completely blended in with the weather map behind her.

Source: YouTube

Thankfully, a fellow news anchor rushed to give her his jacket. She reappeared and was able to dance off the hilarious encounter and continue with the segment.

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You'll Never Believe What the Rain is Doing

Weather reporters usually give us important information on the climate and the implications on the surrounding environment. But in this case, we probably could have figured it out for ourselves.

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Source: YouTube

Rain does typically cause rain problems. Duhhh! Honestly this weather woman’s face shows exactly what we felt when reading this line of “important” news.

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The "I So Pale" Incident

This incident caught on live camera made it’s way around in the internet years ago and earned it’s place as one fo the most “memed” new anchor moments of all time. The woman on the left was unaware that they were already live as she looked at herself in the viewfinder and exclaimed, “I so Pale!”.

Source: Reddit

Her horrified co-host tried to subtly remind her that they were live to the woman’s dismay. The internet became obsessed with the clip and it has since been spread around like wild fire.

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An Uncomfortable Comment and Tearful Apology

These two co-hosts share the news together and things typically go off without a hitch. But the woman made a highly inappropriate comment when she compared her co-host to a gorilla.

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Source: YouTube

She shared a tearful apology to him on air but people could not believe what had come out of her mouth. Her co-host remained calm and composed but we don’t think we will be seeing these two work together again anytime soon.

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Shaq Falls Hard

The legendary Shaquille O’Neil partake in the Halftime Rundown for many basketball games and the man is known for being very charismatic and for having a great sense of humor in addition to being an impressive basketball player.

Source: YouTube

In one of the shows, one of his co-hosts, Kenny Smith pushed Shaq right into a Christmas tree! And a man of 7 foot stature falls hard! It was all fun and games in the end and the friend even recreated the moment on another show. So Shaq has been pushed into not one, but two Christmas trees!

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"I Like Turtles"

Perhaps one of the most viral clips of all time came from a news blooper. This kid in zombie makeup could have had no idea that his own words would be quoted across the internet for years to come.

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Source: YouTube

A reporter approached this kid at an event in Portland, Oregon and he was so nervous that all he could say in response to her questions was “I like turtles”. It spread across the internet like wildfire and people still remember it fondly today.

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A Masterclass in Disinterest

It’s always fun when a reporter tries to talk to a kid. However, this reporter sure didn’t expect the response he got while trying to a little toddler. While on a live broadcast, a reporter tried to be sweet and talk to a little toddler.

Source: Imgur

However, the kid’s expression was priceless and threw the reporter off. The kid had an uninterested look on his face. He wasn’t interested in the news piece, and the reporter took the hint. The kid’s expression went viral and became the muse for many memes.

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Things Getting a Little Out of Hand

Typically, news reporters are very calm, cool, and collected. You have to be if your job involves rapidly reading from a teleprompter. It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure.

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Source: YouTube

However, this reporter did not stay very calm. She went on a bizarre rant that involved a lot of haphazard hand gestures. Of course, the whole thing occurred on live T.V. for all to see.

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A Frosty Freakout

Reporters know that sometimes, their job puts them in dangerous and uncomfortable situations. It’s part of the job, but sometimes, it can be overwhelming. A Milwaukee reporter was sent out during a fiery snowstorm to report live on the situation.

Source: history-a2z

However, after being stuck in the cold for hours, she lost her cool and went on a tirade about how exhausted she was. She also admitted that she had run out of things to say and that it sucked being in the snowstorm. Both the viewers and producers greeted her rant with cheers of glee, and she soon became a sensation.

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Something Familiar...

Things got really awkward when this new anchor was discussing a criminal case. They showed the police sketch of a man involved in a violent case. Can you see how things might have gotten uncomfortable?

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Source: YouTube

The sketch looks almost exactly like the the news anchor reporting on it. There’s a moment in the interview where he goes wide-eyed and realizes this himself. Weird coincidence?

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Stuck in a Sticky Situation

The best part about reporting on a snow storm is being able to return to your warm car when it’s done. However, news reporter Scott Bloom had the misfortune of locking himself out of the news van on accident.

Source: YouTube

He had to bang on the window and signal to his fellow reporters back in the studio so they could send police to help him out. They were all able to laugh about it afterwards but it couldn’t have been fun to be stuck in the snow!

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Love in the Newsroom

No news anchor wants to read embarrassing things to millions of viewers. However, this was precisely what happened with a Huntsville news anchor.

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Source: YouTube

What she thought was a breaking news segment was actually a proposal! Despite the shock, she said yes and reported that there would be tears and joys tonight.

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Cinderella Loses Her Shoe

A traffic reporter was having trouble with the clicker that controlled the screen. She had her co-host joked about kicking the thing to make it work better.

Source: Reddit

As a joke, she went to kick it but accidentally sent her shoes flying through the air and tumbling to the ground off-screen.

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Going down!

This news broadcast started completely ordinary but suddenly the reporter started to look a little dazed.

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Source: YouTube

She actually passed out right on live television! She fell from her chair and her coworkers behind the camera quickly rushed to help her. The good news is she wasn’t hurt!

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A News Splash

In the middle of a weather report in Siberia, an unsuspecting news reporter decided to leap over a puddle, but it didn’t turn out quite how she expected.

Source: Убойные Хроники/ YouTube

She ended up falling into cold water. Siberia has quite harsh weather, so we hope she had a change of clothes right after. 

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Weather Boy

In a hysterical on-camera moment years ago, a reporter interviewed a young boy on July 4th. He was inquiring about what fireworks were the best to buy to which the boy had an unforgettable response.

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Source: YouTube

He quipped, “Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy?”. The reporter was taken aback he returned to the camera and stated “Kid’s sketchy, back to you”. The internet still shares in the laughter of this hysterical moment today.

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Pigs Running Wild

We assume the editing team behind the camera meant to put the image of the pig on the left of the screen but they ended up putting it directly where the head of the news anchor is.

Source: YouTube

Unluckily for her, it looks like it was purposeful, although we know that isn’t the case. ABC had some explaining to do.

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The Kardashian Chaos

Being a news reporter means reporting whatever you’re given. For news anchor John Brown, he had had enough when asked to report a story on the Kardashians one morning.

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Source: thedesigninspiration.com

He ranted on Good Day Orlando, refusing to report a story about Kylie Jenner naming her rabbit Bruce. Brown stated that he was sick of the family, and no one cared. His live rant went viral, and many viewers agreed. 

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A Constructive Idea

News reporter Siobhan Riley got her special moment of fame when she drew suggestive shapes while mapping the ongoing construction in Saginaw. There were oddly placed circles where the construction began.

Source: friedmanbuilt.com

She then drew a long, oblong sphere to show the path of the construction. However, this ended up creating a suggestive shape. Siobhan didn’t realize the idea she was portraying and just went on with her segment with a straight face. However, the internet sure noticed.

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A Reminder Why You Can't Wear Green on Camera

News stations are able to project almost anything onto a green screen, which provides a simple solution to show audiences maps, weather trends, etc.

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Source: YouTube

But, when you also wear the color green things can go awry! This woman wore a green top which made her upper half completely blend in with the screen behind her.

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Wendy Burch Gets a VERY Unwelcome Surprise

Wendy Burch was reporting on an ironman race with KTLA when she got a disgusting surprise of a lifetime. The ironman participant took the celebrations a little too far and the consequence was horrifying.

Source: YouTube

Shortly after the ironman participant explained that he was celebrating the race by chugging a six pack of beer he vomited all over the poor reporter. She was justifiably horrified but the scene was shot live so the entire public could see the whole thing.

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A Dung Mouthful

During a news segment about an infestation of birds, the reporter decided to walk underneath a tree full of birds. In the middle of his report, one of the birds pooped on his shoulder.

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Source: YouTube

The bird pooped again and it landed right into his mouth. The reporter ran off screaming. 

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Breaking News and Hearts

A male news anchor doing a segment about the weather turned to the meteorologist and offered to ‘canoodle’ before getting into it. The female reporter was appalled and rejected the unexpected offer.

Source: 1061evansville.com

Embarrassed, the news anchor explained that he thought the word meant ‘chatting.’ This didn’t remove the awkwardness and humiliation; he asked to end the segment. 

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Are We Boring You?

Some of the best news bloopers come from those moments where the news anchor didn’t know that they were live. It lets us see behind the curtain because typically they are so buttoned up and practiced on television.

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Source: YouTube

This poor woman was caught in a somewhat compromising position when they panned to her unexpectedly mid-yawn. She quickly recovered but it didn’t stop people from taking tons of screenshots.

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A Hot Mess

During a live weather broadcast, a technical error showed some cities’ temperatures above 1000 degrees.

Source: YouTube

McCloskey calmly handled the technical malfunction and jokingly recommended that residents get out while they still could. We know Arizona is hot, but not this hot!

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Boom Goes the Dynamite

Brian Collins volunteered at Ball State University to do the sports report. However, he didn’t expect his nerves to get the best of him. 

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Source: Imgur

Collins stumbled through the segment, and in addition to mispronouncing players’ names, he consistently used the phrase “boom goes the dynamite.” He soon went viral for the phrase, becoming an overnight sensation. 

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A Dreamy Broadcast

Sometimes, news can get boring, and it’s tempting to simply let your mind roam wild. With Natasha Exelby, this was the case, and she was caught daydreaming during a live broadcast. When she realized she was in the air, she gasped in horror and immediately moved to introduce the next segment. 

Source: Imgur

Her expression of a cartoon character who had just seen a ghost endeared her to the public, and many bloopers were made of her reaction. Exelby became an overnight sensation, and her career took off from there.

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A Puddle Surprise

Sometimes, the segment gets so dull that reporters look for new ways to spice it up. This was the case with a reporter giving a live report about a lake’s receding level. The reporter claimed the ground should be parched, tested his theory, and jumped into the water.

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Source: JeffSmithNBC5/Twitter

Unfortunately for him, plenty of water was on the ground, and he was soaked up to his knees. The camera crew and millions of viewers got a good laugh at his expense. The ridiculous scene quickly went viral and gained millions of views.

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A Bad Idea

Roth Leth got more than he bargained for when he was asked to judge a toboggan race on live air. Leth set up in a place that allowed him to get a good view of the race and began to do his segment.

Source: Flickr

Unfortunately, his location was a bad idea when one of the racers started heading toward him. Rather than run out of the way, Leth decided to try something new and jump over the racer. This was a bad idea as he landed on his head with a thud. 

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Breaking News or Breaking Papers? The Epic iPad Fail

This is a blunder worthy of mentioning, even though it happened in 2006. A BBC News presenter Simon McCoy didn’t expect the public to notice his iPad blunder on air, but they sure did. The news anchor found himself in an embarrassing situation when he accidentally picked up a stack of paper instead of his iPad to present a report.

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Source: YouTube

Rather than acknowledging his mistake and swapping it out, McCoy went right on with the report using the back of A4 papers. His unfortunate error was broadcasted in all its glory, and viewers didn’t miss the chance to point it out on social media.

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The Hamster Exhibit

Do animals commit crimes? Maybe not, but this hamster got caught in a crime report and became famous. During the reporting of a missing 16-year-old girl, Molly Bish, Channel 3 was supposed to put up the photo of a man suspected of being involved in the abduction.

Source: krone.at

Rather than display the photo of the actual suspect, they displayed a picture of a hamster on the screen instead. Luckily, the news anchor kept her cool and guaranteed they’d show the suspect’s photo later.

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A Parent’s Job Is Never Done

Robert Kelly was filming a live podcast about the impeachment proceedings of the South Korean president. He never expected that there would be guests joining him on the broadcast. Kelly’s two daughters entered the room, looking for attention from their dad.

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Source: YouTube

While dealing with this interruption, Kelly’s wife came into the room and rushed the kids out. Everyone got a little laugh out of the scene, and Kelly became an internet sensation. They even participated in an ad a few years later when they recreated the hilarious scene.

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A White Affair

Australia’s Nine News hosted three female reporters on a news segment. Although there was no dress code, no one expected the ladies would show up dressed the same. All three reporters showed up wearing white, which made Amber Sherlock, one of the reporters, unhappy.

Source: dailydot.com

Soon, a fight broke out between her and Julie Snook, with Amber consistently ridiculing Snook for not changing. Eventually, Julie wore a black jacket but threatened to leave the segment. Although the incident wasn’t caught on air, it somehow entered the internet.

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Live Mic Mishap

For every journalist, it’s essential to be heard. However, this reporter was caught in a pickle while filming at the GOP celebration following the election of Ronald Reagan as president. The report was live, but the place was so loud the reporter couldn’t hear himself.

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Source: dumpert.nl

This also meant he couldn’t hear the man whispering that he was alive. The reporter constantly asked, “Can you hear me?” and grew continually frustrated. He even asked if he was talking to the air without realizing everyone was listening. 

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A Heated Newsroom

Hell broke loose on a Jordanian news station when two guests argued about the Syrian Civil War. While one ridiculed the other for supporting Bashar Assad, while the other was accused of supporting the Syrian revolution.

Source: YouTube

It quickly worsened, and a tug of war ensued as they pushed the chair at one another until it broke. The guests hit each other with the tabletop, which was all on air. Although the news station didn’t take any legal action against the guests, they quickly went viral.

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From Breaking News to Catching Zs

Like doctors, reporters sometimes have to work long hours. They take it as part of the job and hold it together while on air. For Tucker Carlson, it became too much to handle during a live broadcast of Fox & Friends.

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Source: kurir.rs

Although he only dozed off during a commercial break, his co-host chose not to wake him up when the show came back on the air. They got a good laugh at his expense, and so did millions of viewers on the internet. 

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The Infamous Fart

Letting one out is common, especially when you’re alone. No one wants to be accused of farting on air, and that was the case with Congressman Eric Swalwell. He was being interviewed by MSNBC’s Chris Matthews in 2014 when they heard a loud noise resembling a fart.

Source: Tumblr

Matthews immediately questioned Swalwell, who denied farting. Although they continued the interview, they couldn’t shake off the awkward moment. The moment quickly went viral and was even analyzed by experts. 

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A Pawsome Forecast

In 2018, a meteorologist Josh Judge of WMUR in New Hampshire was doing a live weather forecast when he got an unexpected guest on air. Josh had seen his fair share of excitement but was surprised when a big, fluffy god popped up behind him.

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Source: mashable/ Twitter

Although it surprised him, he knew the show must go on and took it in good stride. The huge fluffy dog, Bella, was scheduled to appear in a segment about veterinarians. However, Bella couldn’t resist her early call to stardom, and the moment soon became famous.

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The Cartoon Chaos

In 2019, Justin Hinton decided to report on snowfall in North Carolina on Facebook live. The live broadcast left viewers in stitches, but it had nothing to do with the weather report. Justin had accidentally activated a filter generator on the phone he was using.

Source: Tumblr

When the seven-minute broadcast began, Justin was unaware of what his audience saw and went on with his report. The filter went from a wolf to a wizard and eventually a purple mustache. It wasn’t until the comments came in that Justin realized what was happening.

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Wieners and Wits

Two news anchors couldn’t hide their laughter at a piece of news. One of the news anchors spoke about how she would be judging a sausage-eating contest, which led her to laugh. The second news anchor joined in, and before they knew it, they were both in a fit of laughter.

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Source: tportal.hr

Suppose you’ve been in such a moment; you know one of the hardest things to do is stop. The two ladies went on for a while before they could pull themselves together. Their viewers sure had a good laugh as well.

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A Bad Move

Lee Valsvik from NBC news channel was reporting live about a sports bar when the news segment took quite a turn. As the conversation heated, the cameraman thought it would be funny to sack Lee from behind.

Source: YouTube

This didn’t go exactly how he planned as he sent her flying over the table, causing her to knock over her chair, cups, and plates on the way. Fortunately, she kept her cool and reassured everyone by shouting “I’m okay” from the background.

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The Quaking Report

Earthquakes are nothing new. However, the Los Angeles news team didn’t expect to be caught on live TV during an earthquake. During a live broadcast, there was an unexpected and strong earthquake. This led one of the anchors to exclaim, “Oh my God, we’re having an earthquake” right before she ducked for cover.

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Source: YouTube

Everyone could see the cameras shaking while the anchors hid under the desk. Although it was scary at the moment, it wasn’t long before their colleagues and comedians like Jimmy Kimmel started mocking them for their reaction.

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