The report was about a river in NJ overflowing its banks.  The reporter,
cameraman, and most likely the news broadcast producer all knew what they
intended to report was not true.  In other words they intended, with malice
of forethought, to perpetrate a fraud.

"Later, an NBC News spokeswoman explained that Kosinski had been riding in
deeper water near an overflowing river down the street, but there were
concerns that the current was too strong for her.
"It's not like we were trying to pass it off as something it wasn't,"
spokeswoman Lauren Kapp said. "

Passing off "something that wasn't" was exactly what they did.   Now... If
they had followed her via a telephoto lens crossing over a flooded bridge
and ending up in the shallows it would be something understandable.  But
this was not the case.  The camera crews for live reports are generally
10-15 feet away and was probably on DRY GROUND as you don't risk thousands
of dollars worth of equipment needlessly.

Isn't there a theory that says something like the mere act of observing
changes the subject of the observation?

perhaps the schtick is over done, but group dynamics is rather fascinating,
one of the unique characteristics is that people often times adapt to their
social environment so readily that they themselves are not aware of their
own behavioral changes and often begin to act in a primitive instinctual
manner........

or maybe that's the whiskey talking