While most were shocked and saddened by the powerful tornadoes that ripped through the midwest on Sunday, one person used the incredible storm system as an opportunity to prank CBS’s Chicago affiliate.
A viewer by the name of “Alan J.” submitted a photo (perhaps to the station’s Facebook page — the anchor only describes the image as being “on social media”) allegedly depicting dark clouds rolling over Washington, IL. And the station ran the photo without further confirmation or, um, looking at it.
As you can see, the gorgeously ominous image contained a little something extra — I believe that’s the universally-recognized sign for “man-on-sheep action ahead”:
Ah, the dangers of quickly tossing user-generated content directly onto the air.
As Deadspin notes, not only is the image clearly doctored, but the original picture isn’t even from this weekend — nor is it from Illinois. It’s a Reuters photo from the devastating tornadoes that hit Oklahoma in May.
If the original broadcast footage isn’t clear enough for you, fear not. One heroic viewer took it upon himself to place his phone a few inches from his TV screen and upload the footage to YouTube:
