Today Show Canoe
profwaggstaff0 HN recommenders · 2016–2023
1.3M views · news · evergreen · Uploaded 2011-04-23
An NBC Today Show correspondent appears to row a canoe in deep storm floodwater, though the water is only about six inches deep. The uploader notes it is a misleading depiction rather than intentional fake news.
HN commenters use it as a favorite example of how TV imagery can craft a misleading reality.
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3 comments from Hacker News
You're absolutely right. Our news media is terrible. We have reporters on "respected" shows sensationalizing flooding in canoes! [1] They love to divide us based on race, sex, whatever, but the data doesn't support their claims of crisis. And we gobble it up. [1] [VIDEO]
One of my favourite examples of this is from "the today show" on NBC where they're discussing a flood and a reporter in a canoe is describing the events when two public citizens walk through the shot and the water seems to be less than 1/2 a foot deep. [VIDEO]
As someone who has experienced several serious floods, this is my favorite example of imagery's ability to craft a reality: [VIDEO] Floodwaters tend to stir up a lot of dirt and mud, so the water is usually totally opaque. That makes it very hard to tell how deep it is. A lot of overhead views of flooded neighborhoods look completely disastrous, but in reality it's just a foot or two of water that will just go away once the drains can handle it. But, sometimes, flooding really is severe and the damage is monumental. But it can be hard to distinguish those from imagery. Every picture of a flood looks biblical.