close
close

Guiltandivy

Source for News

The ABC station incorrectly broadcasts fake election results declaring Harris the winner of the key swing state
Update Information

The ABC station incorrectly broadcasts fake election results declaring Harris the winner of the key swing state

An ABC network sparked a flood of conspiracy theories after it aired what appeared to be official election results for Pennsylvania that showed Kamala Harris handily winning the crucial swing state – more than a week before Election Day.

The shocking result appeared at the bottom of the screen during Sunday's broadcast of the Formula One Mexican Grand Prix on local ABC affiliate WNEP-TV, which serves the northern part of the Keystone state.

It showed the vice president received 52% of the vote, compared to 47% for Republican challenger Donald Trump, with 100% of precincts reporting.

ABC aired a Pennsylvania election results ticker showing Harris defeating Trump, sparking conspiracy theories. X

The graphic caused a stir on social media and led to claims of voter fraud.

A user posted on X: “The cheat is active.”

WNEP-TV said the results appeared on the screen “in error” and were “randomly generated” as part of a test before the Nov. 5 election.

“These numbers should not have appeared on the screen and it was a mistake on WNEP's part that they did so,” the station told the Daily Mail, which first reported the story.

“The numbers shown on the screen were randomly generated test results sent out to help news organizations ensure their equipment is working properly before election night.”

The broadcaster continued: “The numbers did not reflect the actual number of votes. Pennsylvania law does not allow mail-in ballots to be removed from their envelopes before 7 a.m. on Election Day, and no votes of any kind are counted in Pennsylvania until polls close at 8 p.m. WNEP regrets the error and apologizes for any confusion. We have taken measures to ensure this does not happen again.”

According to data from Real Clear Politics, Trump is up by a razor-thin 0.7% in Pennsylvania, taking 48.2% to Harris' 47.5%.

In the 2020 election, Joe Biden won a narrow victory in Pennsylvania, beating Trump by 80,555 votes, or 1.17% – and grabbing the state's 20 electoral votes to win the presidency.

WNEP-TV said the results were just a test, but critics criticized that
ABC-owned station for bias. REUTERS

Trump supporters began circulating the footage from the WNEP-TV broadcast and commented on the mistake.

“ABC is cheating the Democratic machine. “Your license should be revoked,” one user wrote.

Another person added: “If the same graphs show up after November 5th with the same percentages and the same number of votes, that would be EXTREMELY suspicious. And the media wonders why no one trusts them?”

Trump and his allies have suggested that Democrats are cheating and that voters should go to the polls instead of mailing in their ballots. AFP via Getty Images

Disney-owned network ABC has been under fire during the election season after the network aired the presidential debate on September 10th. Critics accused ABC News and anchors David Muir and Linsey Davis of bias in favor of Harris.

Conservative commentators claimed that the moderators continued to fact-check Trump while leaving Harris alone.

Critics claimed ABC showed bias during the presidential debate, which was moderated by David Muir and Linsey Davis. Getty Images

There were also dueling profiles from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times detailing the close friendship between Harris and Disney executive Dana Walden, who is in the running for the company's CEO position, causing a stir.

Walden, for her part, has sought to distance herself from the Mouse House's news department, despite a history of political contributions and fundraising for Harris.

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *