‘Umm, Wrong Country’: NBC’s Today Show Uses South Korean Flags for Report on Death of Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe
NBC’s TODAY aired a shot of South Korean flags as part of their report on Friday about the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
As a reporter narrated, images and video were shown on the screen, each of which related the assassination of the former Prime Minister of Japan, which took place in Japan. But one of the clips inexplicably showed South Korean flags flying, seemingly in place of where they would have shown the flags of Japan.
The error did not go unnoticed on Twitter, and Curtis Houck, managing editor of NewsBusters, shared a screenshot.
Ummmm, wrong country, @TODAYshow.@NBCNews, your morning show has some issues with keeping the countries in Asia straight. pic.twitter.com/0UngDDpVb3
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 8, 2022
I was a geek who knew the flags of most of the world's nations in middle school. Come on, guys. https://t.co/FFC55UG1VY
— Divisive Arch-Conservative Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) July 8, 2022
Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, serving between December 2012 and October 2020. He was shot during a campaign speech on Friday for his Liberal Democratic Party ahead of Sunday elections for the Japanese Parliament’s upper-house. He was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The suspect is in custody. He was 67 years old. Abe was popular during his tenure that included strengthening U.S.-Japanese relations, taking on China and overseeing a strong Japanese economy.
World leaders and former President Donald Trump expressed condolences over Abe’s death.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said:
I am stunned, outraged, and deeply saddened by the news that my friend Abe Shinzo, former Prime Minister of Japan, was shot and killed while campaigning. This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him. I had the privilege to work closely with Prime Minister Abe. As Vice President, I visited him in Tokyo and welcomed him to Washington. He was a champion of the Alliance between our nations and the friendship between our people. The longest serving Japanese Prime Minister, his vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific will endure. Above all, he cared deeply about the Japanese people and dedicated his life to their service. Even at the moment he was attacked, he was engaged in the work of democracy. While there are many details that we do not yet know, we know that violent attacks are never acceptable and that gun violence always leaves a deep scar on the communities that are affected by it. The United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief. I send my deepest condolences to his family.
Watch above, via NBC.
