NEW YORK (AP) — 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 p.m. Eastern in a Manhattan studio that formerly hosted the children’s show “Captain Kangaroo,” will be moderated by outgoing “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation.” host Margaret Brennan.
During the ABC debate between presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump earlier this month, the network’s moderators four times pointed to inaccurate statements from Trump, and none from Harris. This infuriated the former president and his supporters, who complained about the injustice.
Last spring, CNN moderators I didn’t question all the facts presented by Trump and President Joe Biden in the debate where Biden’s poor performance ultimately led him abandonment of the race.
On Friday, CBS said it would be up to Vance and Walz to point out each other’s inaccuracies, and that “moderators would facilitate those opportunities” during the rebuttal period. The network said its own misinformation unit, CBS News Confirmed, would provide real-time fact-checking during the debate on its live blog and on social media, as well as on-air during post analysis. -debate.
With its plans, CBS News is making clear that it wants to step back from the heat generated by calling attention to candidates’ misleading statements. Some argue that behind-the-scenes fact-checking is too little, too late and is not seen by many people watching the event.
It’s not the first time
Angie Drobnic 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. “That said, 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 want to verify candidates’ facts, because they will certainly complain about it. I don’t think the moderators’ primary 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 Ohio immigrants were eat animals.
Unlike the two presidential debates, both sides agreed that the vice presidential candidates’ microphones would not be turned off while their opponent spoke, increasing the chances of real exchanges and the risk that the two men would talk over each other. each other. other. CBS says it reserves the right to cut a “hot mic” if necessary. Each candidate will have two minutes for a final statement, with Vance winning a virtual coin toss and choosing to have 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 she was withdrawing of the role. Brennan is considered a rising star.
As with the presidential debates, CBS is making its feed available to other networks, and many should take advantage of the opportunity.
What you need to know about the 2024 elections
There will be no audience when Vance and Walz meet at 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’s unclear whether there will be other opportunities to see Trump and Harris together on the same stage before the Nov. 5 election. Harris accepted an invitation from CNN to another debate on October 23, but Trump rejected it. In a Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this week, likely voters said by a margin of about two to one that they would like to face them again.
CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ seeks to lure Harris and Trump to consecutive interviews which will be broadcast on October 7, but neither candidate has committed to it yet.
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David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
