It’s a couple of days old, but still absolutely delicious as a demonstration of self-important elite snobbery and hypocrisy. On Memorial Day, MSNBC sent a crew out to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, to make sure everyone saw the hicks in the sticks walking around without masks. “Are they not worried about their personal safety?” the host asks the reporter. “Nobody’s wearing them,” the reporter replies — and at that point, a passerby blows the whistle on MSNBC’s hypocrisy (via Twitchy and Power Line):

INSTANT CLASSIC FROM @MSNBC:

ANCHOR: "Are the people there just not worried about it? Are they not worried about their personal safety?"

REPORTER: "I haven't met anybody who is… you can see here, nobody's wearing them [masks]."

GUY ON STREET: "Including the Cameraman." pic.twitter.com/h9HbbIqNVh

— Eddie Zipperer (@EddieZipperer) May 26, 2020

Note well that the man who blew the whistle on this stunt had his own camera. It didn’t take long for him to make sure everyone took a peek behind the scenes at MSNBC’s hypocrisy:

You asked for it! Gotta love Cal Perry reach out and touch the cameraman who is not wearing a mask and is not social distancing…and who also touched his face. Breaking ALL the rules! pic.twitter.com/5UGQHTmNOX

— Deana921 (@Deana921) May 26, 2020

Even as someone who does wear a mask in public (we’re a high-risk household), this “unmasking” of MSNBC is chef’s-kiss perfect. In the first place, masks aren’t actually necessary outdoors in the sunshine as long as you keep your distance from other people. The scene at the Lake of the Ozarks was definitely problematic, but Lake Geneva looks much different. COVID-19 transmission rarely occurs outdoors, we know now; the risk is indoors, especially in places where people walk in similar patterns. The only people shown in this video who might require masks are the MSNBC crew huddled together in close range on the sidewalk. Had MSNBC gone into a supermarket, they probably would have seen more people masked up, because that’s where the risk is. And, I suspect, that may be why this crew set up shop by the lakeshore.

It’s pretty clear that MSNBC isn’t actually interested in universal mask wearing as much as they’re into preening over their narrative of fly-over ignorance. And that’s what makes this depantsing so satisfying. The supposed hicks are a lot more on the ball than the clueless elites, and one of them in particular beats them at their own game by whipping out a camera and exposing their rules-for-thee-but-not-for-we snobbery.

This doesn’t bode well for future live reports from Flyover Country. These days, everyone has a camera and the ability to report on the reporters. Media outlets should think twice about their next “the hicks in the sticks are thick as bricks” segment. If they want to make a point about wearing masks, maybe they should just follow Sean Hannity’s example and be honest about it. Honesty and respect at least have the novelty of not having been tried on MSNBC.

Hannity on Lake of The Ozarks Video: There’s no mask wearing here that I see… I see no social distancing. But if they get the virus and they’re in contact with older more vulnerable Americans, that could be a disaster… Please wear the mask for your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa pic.twitter.com/C8UGhTd7aH

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 27, 2020