Rio De Janeiro, April 10: A Mexican news outlet, RCG Media, is facing online ridicule and embarrassment after inadvertently broadcasting a viewer-submitted prank during their coverage of a total solar eclipse on Monday. The prank involved a clip of a man obscuring the sun with his testicles, which was unexpectedly displayed on the screen during the live broadcast.
The anchors were left shocked by the incident, quickly dubbed the "testicular eclipse." The clip was swiftly removed from the screen, with one of the anchors explaining that the footage had been submitted by viewers, the New York Post reported. Solar Eclipse 2024: Year's First Solar Eclipse Garners 1.2 Million Posts on X, Says CEO Linda Yaccarino Linda.
Channel Airs Man's Testicles During Solar Eclipse 2024 Coverage
NEW: Mexican media outlet RCG Media plays video of a man’s testicles thinking they were showing the eclipse.
Someone’s getting fired.
Shortly after the image displayed for all their viewers to see, the production team quickly removed it.
The hosts were clearly… pic.twitter.com/UlDnR0RI6t
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 9, 2024
The anchor acknowledged the risks of including viewer-submitted content, which can sometimes lead to embarrassing situations for broadcasters. Instances of sharing such clips during solar events are not uncommon, with similar images circulating during the 2019 eclipse in Chile.
Critics have pointed out the news outlet's failure to vet the submitted video before broadcasting it. This incident marks the first known instance of such an image being aired on television. Solar Eclipse 2024: Millions Witness Total Eclipse Across Mexico, Canada, and US; NASA Shares Live Stream (See Pics and Videos).
A user identified as Rhevolver claimed responsibility for submitting the clip to RCG Media. He jokingly expressed satisfaction at the prank’s success, writing, "Greetings to all my people from Saltillo who had to watch my eggs on television." However, it remains unclear whether the footage submitted was of Rhevolver himself.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2024 10:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).