Is it true that the American television channel showed the voting results a week before the presidential election?

At the end of October 2024, a television fragment in Pennsylvania spread in social networks, in which the results of the still failed presidential election were shown. Internet users accused of taging results a candidate from the Democrats Kamal Harris, who, according to a virus video, will support more than half of the voters. We checked the reliability of this news.

It was reported that on October 30, a week before the presidential election of 2024, the WNEP television channel included in the ABC network during a direct broadcast of racing "Formula-1»Showed the results of the voting in Pennsylvania. It followed from the screenshot that appeared below this state, which, according to experts, will become decisive To choose the new American leader, a candidate from the US Democratic Party Kamal Harris received 52% of the vote, and her rival, Republican Donald Trump, was 47%. Many English-speaking Internet users They accused Democrats in falsification of elections.

In the Russian -language segment of social networks, this news also caused a resonance. Authors of Telegram channels, shares a screenshot of the ether, They wrote: “Plumpled American democracy: the results of the Trump and Harris election elections are a foregone conclusion” or “It is clear whether someone had a pre-prepared result.” Some users are also suggestedthat the director of the ether specifically showed the results of the elections to demoralize Trump's supporters. Total Similar posts At the time of writing this analysis, more than 650,000 views were recruited in Telegram. The news also appeared in some Russian Media And BlogOh. And users of the social network "VKontakte" Approvedthat the American marines even arrested an employee of the Democratic Party and the head of the WNEP television channel, who created graphics, accusing them of state treason, interference of the election and intentional spread of enemy propaganda.

Pennsylvania is the most important "oscillating»The United States, which has become a key arena in the struggle for the presidential chair. Since the end of the 20th century, its inhabitants consistently Voted for democrats, but in 2016 Trump Won There, with a minimum advantage, and eventually became the president of the country. In 2020, this state again was a fierce race: with a small margin of it won Joe Biden - and also occupied the White House. As I wrote Bloomberg, the headquarters of Harris and Trump focused on the most attention and resources on Pennsylvania. Republican candidate several times accused Opponents in the preparation of falsifications in this state.

Not did Without such statements from the trampists and at the end of October - after the incident with the WNEP ether, a branch of the ABC television channel in Pennsylvania. During the direct broadcast of Formula 1, in the running line in the lower part of the screen, presumably the results of the 2024 presidential elections appeared, which were supposed to take place only a week after this broadcast. According to the numbers on the screen, Harris won Pennsylvania with a result of 52%, and Trump gained only 47% of the votes of the state residents. Formula-1 spectators managed to shoot this broadcast on video and lay out the evidence of the existence of prepared results in social networks.

WNEP TV channel, whose logo is visible on a running line, actually broadcast Stage "Formula-1" In Mexico on October 27, 2024 he showed a schedule dedicated to the results of the presidential election. However, as the representatives of this media later confirmed, its employees tested the equipment on the eve of the approaching voting day, and the data were invented and should not have been air. In the evening of the same day, WNEP published statement, in which he apologized for the mistake of the mistake: “The test results for lighting the upcoming elections on November 5 appeared on the WNEP-TV television channel while broadcasting the Formula 1 Grand Prix by mistake. These numbers should not have been on the screen, it was a WNEP error. These were randomly generated tests that were sent to the media to help them check if their equipment works on the eve of the elections night. These numbers did not reflect the real number of votes. According to the law of Pennsylvania, ballots sent by mail cannot be removed from envelopes to 07:00 on the election day and you cannot count the votes before the closing of polling stations at 20:00. WNEP regrets the error made and apologizes for possible confusion. We took measures to prevent such incidents in the future. ”

However, this statement did not prevent Internet users from spreading the theories of a conspiracy about the prepared falsifications. Three days later, the user of social networks x with the nickname Boca Vista He wrote: “Dear ABC, explain it! How do you know the results of the Pennsylvania elections to the elections themselves? How do you know the exact number of votes? You know that you will be put in prison for deception as soon as Trump wins? " On the same day, the news appeared in Runet. Telegram channel "News from all over the world»Published a brief retelling of the article by the British tabloid Daily Mail, which was one of the first to report the mistake of the American television channel. And the next day the channel "Zlaya Prof"(230,000 views) already directly announced the fraud:" It is clear that by chance someone posted a pre-prepared result. "

The authors of such conclusions were not embarrassed that, in addition to the number of votes for Harris and Trump, the “results” of the upcoming US Congress elections, which are also scheduled for November 5, were shown in the video. The current Senator from Pennsylvania, Democrat Bob Casey and his opponent from the Republican Party, Dave McCormic, according to the virus video, received 53% and 45%, respectively. At the same time, it was McCormik, despite the lesser support of the voters, which was declared the winner of the race (on the contrary his name is a checkbox similar to the mark opposite the name Harris). This detail also indicates that the numbers were generated randomly and were unlikely to be intended to predict the outcome or were an attempt to influence the opinion of voters.

Thus, although the viral video and screenshot from it are genuine, most of the Internet users who spread them were silent about the WNEP-TV statement. In it, representatives of the TV channel clarified: the results of the run -in line were generated randomly in order to test the equipment on the eve of the night after the elections, and were air by accident - during the verification of the media readiness for that broadcast. Be that as it really, the omission of this detail deprives readers of an important context and strengthens the narrative about the manipulations, behind which the Democratic Party of the United States is supposedly stands.

Photo on the cover: a screenshot of a viral video

Teared out of context

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Poynter. ABC News Affiliate Wnep-TV In Pennsylvania Accidential Aird Election Results. It’s not cheating
2. Deutsche Welle. The result of the US president will determine the "fluctuating" states
3. "Russian BBC service." In the USA, on the eve of the social network elections are filled with charges of tags
4. Is it true that assault rifles for early voting in the United States do not allow other candidates except Kamaly Harris?
5. Razfocus. What fakes about Trump are distributed in the USA (and why you have not seen them in Russian)