Fact Check: Did Linsey Davis say "Fact-checking was only planned for Trump" after presidential debate? Viral blog post debunked
While Donald Trump and Kamala Harris' presidential debate on September 10, 2024, became popular, anchor Linsey Davis garnered a lot of attention in the same. On September 17, 2024, the blog Chicks on the Right published an article with the headline "ABC Moderator Linsey Davis Admits: 'Fact-checking' Was Only Planned for Trump."
The blog claimed that ABC's debate moderators Linsey Davis and David Muir planned in advance that they would fact-check only those statements that Donald Trump made. The Chicks on the Right blog stated:
"During the debate, Trump was fact-checked seven times, often inaccurately, while Harris was not fact-checked at all, despite using false claims like the Charlottesville 'very fine people' narrative."
However, according to the facts mentioned in the fact-checking website Snopes, the Chicks on the Right blog did not specify which of the moderators' fact-checks on Donald Trump were faulty. Further, the blog's claim that Kamala Harris was not fact-checked by Davis was made without any credible sources and the questions the blog raised about Harris were answered by them without any conclusive proof.
Mainly, the blog made the claim that Davis was biased, referring to a Los Angeles Times interview with the journalist. However, they failed to mention that Davis stated in the interview that she and Muir had carefully studied each candidate's body of work ahead of time and hence had an idea of what to expect, further explaining that politicians tend to repeat things. Hence, the claim made by the blog is false.
Linsey Davis addresses fact-checking Trump's claims owing to previous CNN debate
The first presidential debate of 2024 was held on June 27, 2024, between Joe Biden and Trump and was hosted by CNN. While the debate in June 2024 was moderated by Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, the moderators did not verify and correct false claims made by either of the nominees. CNN offered an online fact-check and a fact-check on television once the debate was telecast.
On the other hand, during the debate on September 10, 2024, ABC News did not promise live fact-checking. However, as the debate progressed, both moderators began to check and debunk the false claims made by Donald Trump and also fact-checked Kamala Harris. Moreover, Trump himself commented on it, claiming bias by the ABC moderators during an appearance on Fox & Friends in September 2024.
Commenting on the same, Trump said:
"It was three to one. It was a rigged deal, as I assumed it would be. The press is so dishonest in this country, it's amazing."
However, in an interview with the Los Angeles Times after the debate, Linsey Davis addressed the fact-checking situation. She mentioned that the decision to verify what the candidates said during the debate was the result of the previous debate between Trump and Joe Biden.
Linsey Davis stated that she wanted to address people's concern regarding the comments remaining unchecked either by anyone during the debate, as was the case during the debate between Trump and Biden in June. Davis told the publication:
“People were concerned that statements were allowed to just hang and not [be] disputed by the candidate Biden, at the time, or the moderators."
Linsey Davis also commented on the Instagram allegations that suggest she closed her social media accounts to run away from the accusations of being biased in favor of Harris. Calling it a "stereotype," Linsey mentioned that she is aware of the rumors that she can't be unbiased while covering the race and that "anonymous Instagram people serve as reminders every day."
Apart from claims against Linsey Davis being biased toward Harris, there was a rumor that she and David Muir were fired by ABC. This was posted on Facebook on September 11, 2024, by a user named 'SpaceX fanclub' and while some internet users took it seriously, the post was tagged as satire.
