Anchor mixes up the guests on live show; McAdams becomes India’s most famous meme

March 5: Rahul Shivshankar, the host of an English news channel in India, debating #UkraineLastStand on Wednesday evening got the names of his panelists confused and kept on shouting and wagging his finger at the wrong guy. The panel, comprising Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute and Bohdan Nahaylo of Kyiv Times newspaper, was hosted by Shivshankar on the topic #UkraineLastStand on a news debate Wednesday night. The participants were discussing the Russia-Ukraine war that began a week ago when Russia began invading its neighbouring country.

For more than a minute, host Shivshankar felt he was in an argument with Daniel McAdams during a heated discussion. However, in reality, Daniel McAdams sat peacefully, while Bohdan Nahaylo was having a disagreement with the host. At one point in the debate, Shivshankar asked McAdams to “take a chill pill” and continued with his tirade for more than a minute. “Mr McAdams if you are so concerned about Ukraine, get off the fence and send your forces and don’t lecture us here in India. I’m not going to hear your lecture…,”

As the anchorperson continued his outburst, McAdams decided to correct him “Dear host, I have not said a word yet,” he said. “I don’t know why you’re yelling at me.” Even after that the host did not realize his mistake and continued as he said, “I’m not yelling at you, I’m talking about Mr. McAdams.” By that point, Mr. McAdams had enough as he loudly claimed “I am Mr. McAdams.” The embarrassed anchor then apologised and said he got confused.

Craziest 2 minutes of TV news ever, with opposing guests on the Ukraine war hosted by Indian TV. the ending is a MUST watch.🤦 pic.twitter.com/1USI8bjHif

— Sk Boz, PhD 💙 (@skbozphd) March 3, 2022

The video is being shared widely on social media and is definitely meme material. “Craziest 2 minutes of TV news ever, with opposing guests on the Ukraine war hosted by Indian TV. the ending is a MUST watch,” a user commented on Twitter while sharing the video. Indian viewers are used to such news anchors shouting down their panelists and going on rants during their shows.

Of late, the sensationalist tone of several Indian television news channels has distinctively stood out. Whether on the hijab row in Karnataka or the COVID-19 second wave crisis in the country, news channels have been accused by citizens of approaching sensitive subjects with clear biases that are in breach of journalistic ethics of objectivity.