ABC affiliate WNEP-TV incorrectly broadcast election results showing Vice President Kamala Harris won Pennsylvania just a week before Election Day. The image, shown during the broadcaster’s Sunday F1 Mexico Grand Prix coverage, showed Vice President Harris winning with 52% of the vote, beating Republican challenger Donald Trump’s 47%, and sparked conspiracy theories online. This sparked a wave of criticism of the department. .
WNEP-TV later clarified that the numbers were “randomly generated” for equipment testing purposes and were not based on actual vote counts.
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ABC incorrectly broadcasts Pennsylvania election results
“These numbers should not have appeared on the screen. It was a mistake on WNEP’s part that they appeared,” the broadcaster told the Daily Mail about the “glitch.” The broadcaster clarified the gaffe, which caused an uproar on social media, explaining that the numbers broadcast were purely “randomly generated test results” and had nothing to do with the actual number of votes cast.
“The numbers displayed on the screen are randomly generated test results sent to news organizations to ensure that their equipment is working properly before election night,” they said. added.
They emphasized that Pennsylvania law prohibits mail-in ballots from being opened until the morning of Election Day, and votes will not be counted until polls close at 8 p.m. In addition to the statement, WNEP expressed regret over the incident, apologized for the confusion, and assured viewers: We are taking measures to prevent recurrence.
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Pennsylvania poll: Harris and Trump tied in tight election
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are in a close race in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, with Trump holding a narrow 0.7 percentage point lead and Harris trailing by just 0.7 percentage points, according to data from Real Clear Politics. 48.2% compared to Mr. But nationally, the vice president has a slight lead in average polling. On November 5th, Americans will decide who will succeed President Joe Biden. Back in 2020, Biden narrowly defeated Trump in Pennsylvania by just 80,555 votes, or 1.17%, according to the Post.
“The cheating has begun,” one user posted, accusing the ABC of bias. “ABC is cheating on behalf of the Democratic Party. We will revoke its license.” A third wrote: “I’m screenshotting this and if I see the same thing on November 5th we’ll discuss.” ABC has faced significant backlash this election season, particularly during the recent Harris-Trump debate, where some viewers felt the hosts were showing undue favoritism to Harris and critics said the network They accuse him of leaning toward the Democratic Party’s viewpoint.
Pennsylvania’s 19 voting spots are critical in the fight to reach the 270 mark needed for an Electoral College victory. According to 538 presidential forecasts, Pennsylvania will be a close race, with Trump having about a half chance of winning.
