{"id":159008,"date":"2023-06-15T22:01:45","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T16:31:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=159008"},"modified":"2023-06-16T16:11:37","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T10:41:37","slug":"cyclone-biparjoy-republic-anchors-antics-symptomatic-of-everything-thats-wrong-with-indian-tv-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/cyclone-biparjoy-republic-anchors-antics-symptomatic-of-everything-thats-wrong-with-indian-tv-media\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclone Biparjoy: Republic anchor’s antics symptomatic of everything that’s wrong with Indian TV media"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even before cyclone Biparjoy (literally, ‘disaster’) made landfall in Gujarat, news anchor Sweta Tripathi had taken Indian television news by storm on Wednesday night. Republic Bharat, the channel where she works, was in the eye of that storm. The show that she put up was another disaster in itself.<\/p>\n

Cyclone Biparjoy made landfall<\/a> over the coastal areas of Saurashtra and the Gulf of Kutch on Thursday evening around 7 pm in the form of a very severe cyclonic storm causing extremely heavy rainfall, strong winds and tidal waves. BBC reports<\/a> that more than 150,000 people in India and Pakistan were evacuated from the path of the storm before its landfall.<\/p>\n

Reporting on the weather conditions in Gujarat hours before the landfall, Republic Bharat anchor Sweta Tripathi<\/a> hosted a bulletin that has since gone viral on social media. (Barely) Standing with an umbrella in the studio, she twisted and turned, ducked and swerved, stuttered and stumbled under the imagined influence of stormy winds to present a simulacrum of the actual scenario. The result was both hilarious and pathetic. Hilarious because of its absurdity, and pathetic because it ended up making a caricature of what is essentially a natural disaster affecting thousands in potentially life-transforming ways.<\/p>\n

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Sweta from @Republic_Bharat<\/a> reporting live from Dwarka, Gujarat. Hope she’s safe. #CycloneBiparjoyUpdate<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/rolXX5Pz4b<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) June 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Standing inside the Noida studio, she says: “See this.. we have reached Dwarka in Gujarat. The wind is blowing so hard that even standing here is difficult.. wind blowing at a speed of 150kmph.. it is tough to be standing or speaking… People have been asked to stay away from ports. How will people face such high-speed wind that is the question. Just imagine what will happen when the actual landfall takes place. That’s why I am asking you to stay safe. Trees are getting uprooted. NDRF teams are prepared….” All the while she continues her antics.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the absurdity of the whole thing did not end with the news anchor’s histrionics.<\/p>\n

2022 Florida Hurricane Video Shown in Background<\/h4>\n

The visual that played out behind the anchor all the while was that of Hurricane Ian in Florida<\/a> from September 2022. We looked at a video of the storm’s destruction uploaded on YouTube by the Washington Post. The red building and the movement of the trees match those in the Republic Bharat video to a tee.<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=9U9WmFIGtUA]<\/p>\n

The description of the Washington Post video says: “Video taken on Sept. 29, shows Hurricane Ian slamming Fort Myers, Fla., with destructive winds and devastating flooding.”<\/p>\n

Here is a side-by-side comparison of two screen-grabs, one from the Republic Bharat show and one from the Washington Post video report:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the bulletin was not only improperly presented, but factually incorrect as well. An old video from Florida was shown as visuals of the cyclone in Gujarat. But how does authenticity or correctness matter compared to sensationalism!<\/p>\n

Aerial Survey by Republic Anchor<\/h4>\n

Just before the above-mentioned part in the bulletin, the same anchor was shown with the help of VFX inside a helicopter surveying tumultuous sea waters below.<\/p>\n