A video of two Pakistani anchors hosting a news bulletin on the Asia Cup in UAE has gone viral for the weirdest reason — obscenity. In the bulletin, the two Samaa TV anchors discussed the match between Pakistan and Afghanistan teams, praising Pakistani players for their victory against their competitors.
However, moments after the camera started rolling, one of the seemingly unaware anchors could be seen cheerily flipping the bird. His co-anchor, too, burst out laughing, only managing to compose herself seconds after they went on-air. The video was tweeted by another Pakistani journalist, Syed Raza Mehdi, on Saturday.
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When panel producer is in so much hurry to switch!!! RIP Journalism pic.twitter.com/6NeYRwxNvB
— Syed Raza Mehdi (@SyedRezaMehdi) September 22, 2018
While some took it in jest, others were quick to criticise the gesture by the anchor on national television. Although it remains unclear why the anchor chose to raise his middle finger during a telecast, some claim that he was referring to a popular image of a child flipping the bird during the Pakistan-Afghanistan match, which was turned into a meme.
Tonight ONE can confidently claim Pakistan’s future is in safe hands. #PAKvAFG pic.twitter.com/fC1PAFJ1rG
— ONE (@CallSignONE) September 21, 2018
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Here’s how others reacted to the video on Twitter:
I specially love how the girl immediately makes a switch to sati savitri mode
— Juni (@dabbooking) September 22, 2018
To be honest Samaa news has been the most immature channel covering cricket.
— danyal afgan khan (@danyal104) September 22, 2018
Ridiculous
— Hassan Moavia (@HassanM94215261) September 22, 2018
These kinds of idiots on our channels decide how to run a country shame BA fail log
— Daud zaman (@TheDaudzaman) September 22, 2018
Ab tk to nikaal diya hoga
— Quote and Tag Game + (@MentionTheMate) September 22, 2018
Non professionalism “sama baazi ley gya” hilarious
— K Asif Ahmad (@kasif15) September 22, 2018
However, this is not a first-of-its-kind occurrence. News channels are notorious for making such gaffes. As long as they’re not airing porn on-air as BBC did, there really shouldn’t be anything to worry about. The bar is set pretty freaking low.
