hot mic
Gaffe-catching equipment
A hot mic is a microphone that's on and transmitting when the speaker doesn't realize it.
The term usually appears in contexts where someone says something embarrassing or revealing, unaware they're being recorded: The senator's hot mic moment went viral.
Also used attributively: a hot mic gaffe.
- eavesdroppingSecretly listening to others
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- trust violationBreaking a confidence given
- confidentialityQuality of protecting secrets
- privacy breachUnauthorized access to personal information
feedback · live broadcast · interview · shout · broadcast · mutter · slip of the tongue · unguarded · live stream · surveillance · off-the-record · candid moment · gaffe · media ethics · media circus · damage control · news anchor · Biden
- communication failsmisunderstanding, autocorrect fail, typo, wrong number, reply all
- Media Termsbreaking news, TV show, sound bite, press release, comic strip
- debatesmoderator, podium, lectern, rebuttal, rebuttals
- miscommunicationmix-up, mixed signals, confusion, mixed messages, crossed wires
- media errorstypo, misquote, factual error, misspelling, correction