For large television networks, one question is paramount: if Trump is making a speech and making a completely specific claim, will he keep it alive?
The short answer is yes. Although network officials are reluctant to talk publicly about such a fictional and confusing scenario, five people on various networks, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expect the Presidential Election Night commentary to be shown live from wall to wall.
However, any premature claim by the President – or by Biden – in that regard, however, is not the equivalent fear of it happening – will be wrapped up in a television context, with vigorous correction and visual evidence that the race is very close. Call.
A plan described publicly by NBC News President Noah Oppenheim has been echoed by leaders of other networks, including CNN.
But is that enough? The Trump era has asked unusual questions about the policy of broadcasting and repeating guest political lies.
On Monday, an MSNBC A spokesman for No declined to comment on how it would handle such a scenario.
The question should be kept in mind: should networks act like gatekeepers and refuse to broadcast Trump’s claims of millions of Americans, unfiltered, or do they have a role to play in the news as it happens?
Many liberals believe that the American network is guilty of spreading too many Trump lies too often. Conversely, many self-employed people believe that networks other than Fox News are already using more restraint.
Inside the newsrooms, the general response to the tragedy was simply, “He’s the president.” The belief is that the words of an elected leader are naturally newspaper, even when wrong, and must be listened to, then check the fact if necessary.
It appears to be a unanimous vote in major networks, although some employees are agitating for a tougher line on Trump, given the history of his speeches full of lies.
An industry source, on condition of anonymity, sketched out a possible scenario in which networks would prefer to keep Trump alive: if widespread violence occurs and newsroom leaders have reason to believe that the Trump proverb will pour gasoline on fire.
In response to questions about possible premature claims of victory, a CBS News spokesperson said, “We will report the candidate’s claim, however, we will only make inferences based on the data and statistical models of our decision desk.”
CNN CNN on Sunday morning on “Reliable Sources”. Washington election bureau chief Sam Feist said election coverage would be data-driven.
“Once you start counting and reporting votes, then the spin and spin time will be over.” “On election night, we’re going to talk a lot about the numbers. We’re going to look at the numbers in great detail, where the votes come from, how many of them are in the mail-in ballot, personally the election day ballot. But we won’t spend much time focusing on the spin. We will really focus on the data. “
Fist and other experts have insisted that this year’s election predictions will take longer due to the epidemic and a sharp rise in mail-in ballots. “Just because it takes a long time doesn’t mean anything is wrong. And we should all remember that,” he said.
But there are widespread fears that Trump will occupy a possible delay in shaping public opinion – and claiming he has been re-elected.
Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter say they will take their signals from major networks and the Associated Press.
Both Twitter and Facebook said Monday they would trust the decision desk’s estimates, made by major networks and the Associated Press.
Twitter said it could apply warning labels to tweets made by candidates, campaigns and other highly visible accounts that try to claim victory even before official results are announced.
“From the opening to election night, we will be labeling some of the tweets that make claims about the election results,” Twitter said in a blog post. “We will prioritize presidential elections and other highly contested contests where there may be significant issues with misleading information based on the following criteria.”
Facebook said that if the presidential candidate or party announces a premature victory before the race is called by the mainstream media, the “platform” will add more specific information to the labels on the candidate’s posts and “top-feed notifications.”
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