CBS News, which hosts vice presidential candidates JD Vance and Tim Walz for the third debate of the general election campaign next week, says it will be up to politicians — not moderators — to fact-check their opponents.
The 90-minute debate, scheduled for Tuesday at 9:00 PM Eastern in a Manhattan studio that once housed the children’s program “Captain Kangaroo,” will be moderated by outgoing CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’ Donnell and Face the Nation. presenter Margaret Brennan.
During ABC’s debate between presidential contenders Kamala Harris and Donald Trump earlier this month, the network’s moderators on four occasions pointed out incorrect statements by Trump and none by Harris. This angered the former president and his supporters, who complained that it was unfair.
Last spring, CNN moderators did not question any facts presented by Trump and President Biden in the debate where Biden’s poor performance ultimately led to his withdrawal from the race.
On Friday, CBS said the onus will be on Vance and Walz to point out the other’s misstatements and that “moderators will facilitate those opportunities” during rebuttal time. The network said its disinformation unit, CBS News Confirmed, will provide real-time fact-checking during the debate on its live blog and social media, and on-air during post-debate analysis.
With its plans, CBS News is making it clear that it wants to take a step back from the heat created by drawing attention to candidates’ misleading statements. Some argue that off-stage fact-checking is too little, too late, and is not seen by many people watching the event.
It’s not the first time
Angie Drodnic Holan, director of the international fact-checking network at the Poynter Institute, said she has seen examples of moderators who have successfully encouraged candidates to keep their opponents honest.
“I will be interested to see how this works in practice,” she said. “Having said that, you’re essentially offloading one of your journalistic responsibilities onto the candidates themselves, so I don’t think it’s ideal. It takes journalistic courage to be willing to fact-check the candidates, because the candidates will absolutely complain about it. I don’t think the moderators’ first goal is to avoid controversy.”
During the ABC debate, moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis corrected Trump’s statements on abortion, the 2020 election, crime statistics and reports that immigrants in Ohio were eating pets.
Unlike the two presidential debates, both sides agreed that the vice-presidential candidates’ microphones would not be turned off while their opponent is speaking, increasing the chance for genuine exchanges and the risk that the two men would speak for each other. others. CBS says it reserves the right to turn off a “hot mic” when necessary. Each candidate will have two minutes for a closing statement, with Vance winning a virtual coin toss and choosing to get the last word.
The stakes are high for CBS News
It’s a big moment for CBS News, long mired in third place in the evening news ratings. O’Donnell just announced that he would be stepping down from the role. Brennan is considered a rising star.
As with the presidential debates, CBS is making its feed available for other networks to televise, and many are expected to take advantage of the opportunity.
There will be no audience when Vance and Walz meet in a West Side studio that, in the past, has hosted editions of “60 Minutes,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Inside the NFL,” “Geraldo ” and “Captain Kangaroo”. “
It is not known if there will be other opportunities to see Trump and Harris together on the same stage before the Nov. 5 election. Harris has accepted an invitation from CNN for another debate on October 23, but Trump has declined. In a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this week, likely voters said by a roughly two-to-one margin that they would like to see them face off again.
CBS’ “60 Minutes” is looking to send Harris and Trump for back-to-back interviews to air on Oct. 7, but neither candidate has yet committed.
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