News channel accidentally shows man's testicles during solar eclipse coverage

Mexican TV viewers were left shielding their eyes during coverage of Monday’s solar eclipse, and not for the reasons you might expect.

RCG Media’s ‘24/7’ news programme was covering the celestial event when it broadcast clips submitted by fans.

Unfortunately, the footage clearly hadn’t been rigorously checked, and the show’s three hosts fell victim to a mortifying prank.

During the segment, the male anchor was listing the cities from where the eclipse could be witnessed when images of the jaw-dropping spectacle gave way to a video of a man blocking out the sun with his… testicles.

One of his fellow presenters could be heard gasping with shock at the unexpected display, while the man attempted to carry on coolly.

The image was swiftly replaced as the male anchor clarified that the video had been sent in by a fan of the show.

He and his colleagues insisted that embarrassing mistakes can occur when broadcasters include footage submitted by viewers.

Inevitably, social media delighted in the mishap, with users deriding the channel for failing to check the clip before airing it.

One X/Twitter user with the handle Rhevolver claimed responsibility for the joke, writing (in Spanish): “Shout-out to all my people in Saltillo who had to watch my balls on TV because the team at [RCG media] failed to properly review the video of the eclipse.

“I love them,” he added.

In an interesting plot twist, Spanish news site Vandal reports that despite Rhevolver’s declaration, the video doesn’t seem to be new.

They claim that the clip appears to have been circulating since 2017 – when North America last enjoyed a solar eclipse.

Still, that’s not to say Rhevolver isn’t the legitimate culprit. All we can say is, news channels should be on their guard when the next total solar eclipse hits Mexico…

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings