Reporters Make Blunders Over Osama and Obama Names

After almost a decade of being the most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden has finally been declared dead.  Reporters were quick to report on this joyous news celebrated by many around the United States after the Sunday night televised announcement that Obama made to the nation.

Unfortunately the similarity between Obama and Osama’s names created some confusion as reporters continuously misspoke throughout their broadcasts. For the most part these blunders were quickly realized and fixed, creating a comedic relief for viewers. The video of a Fox news anchor reporting that “President Obama speaking from the East Room of the White House telling the nation and the world that President Obama is, in fact, dead,” has been making headlines, especially for the co-anchor’s attempt to correct the mistake.

Anchors however weren’t the only ones falling victim to this gaffe and some of these mistakes gave a shock to the world, especially when MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell simply tweeted “Obama shot and killed per @JimMiklaszewksi,” before quickly correcting her mistake. CNN also reported on its website that there was “no indication that Obama tried to surrender” while another Fox news ran “Ubama Bin Laden Dead” on the television screen with anchor Geraldo Rivera stating, “Obama is dead. I don’t care…” before correcting his mistake into “Osama Bin Laden is dead.”

Even notable politicians could not escape this blunder as Ted Kennedy made the same mistake of calling the president Osama Bin Laden before quickly muttering “Osama Obama” in his attempt to fix the mistake.

Bin Laden’s death was the result of a successful U.S. operation led by Navy SEALS called Naval Special Warfare Development Group who flew from Afghanistan to Pakistan for this surprise attack. The team had reportedly trained for the mission after receiving tips of Bin Laden’s whereabouts. Osama Bin Laden’s body is now in U.S. possession.

Photo by Kolin Toney via Flickr