No, Linsey Davis Did not Say Debate Reality-Checking Was Deliberate Just for Trump, Not Harris

Following the ABC Information U.S. presidential debate on Sept. 10, 2024, the conservative weblog Chicks on the Proper revealed an article claiming that one of many community’s two debate moderators — anchor Linsey Davis — mentioned she and her co-moderator, David Muir, deliberate upfront to fact-check solely statements by former President Donald Trump. 

The Sept. 17 blog post displayed the headline, “ABC Moderator Linsey Davis Admits: ‘Reality-checking’ Was Solely Deliberate for Trump.” In different phrases, the put up asserted that in preparation for the talk, it was determined that the moderators wouldn’t fact-check any statements by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The declare was not true, nevertheless, as we’ll show beneath:

First, the Information

The Chicks on the Proper put up included info sourced from a Sept. 13 Fox News story. That story sourced its materials from a Los Angeles Times article revealed on Sept. 11 — the day after the talk. The Occasions’ story featured an interview with Davis, in addition to a profile of her profession.

Notably, the Chicks on the Proper story omitted some info from the Occasions’ interview with Davis, primarily the reporting that Davis mentioned she and Muir rigorously studied “every candidate’s physique of labor forward of time” so as to nail the info throughout questions or post-answer clarifications (emphasis ours):

Davis acknowledged that she and Muir couldn’t nail each misstatement. However they did examine every candidate’s physique of labor forward of time and had an thought of what to anticipate.

“Politicians are likely to say the identical issues time and again,” Davis mentioned.

To arrange, Davis, a 17-year ABC Information veteran, reviewed questions in her head for weeks throughout her each day runs (she and entrepreneur husband Paul Roberts have competed in half-marathons in 46 states). There was a number of prayer too.

“My husband mentioned just a little 30-second prayer earlier than I left for Philadelphia,” mentioned Davis, a Christian who has written faith-based kids’s books. “He was like, ‘God give her the phrases to say.’ That is within the Scripture. There have been a number of praying for, particularly, knowledge, discernment, braveness and peace.”

A cousin of Davis arrange a prayer assembly on Zoom as effectively.

The Chicks on the Proper Article

In our evaluate of the Chicks on the Proper story, we famous it featured two paragraphs from the Los Angeles Occasions profile that had been quoted within the Fox Information story:

“Davis, carrying pink glasses whereas chatting with The Occasions over breakfast on the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia, mentioned the choice to try to right the candidates was in response to the June 27 CNN debate between Trump and President Biden, whose poor efficiency led to his exit from the race,” the Occasions reported.

“Folks had been involved that statements had been allowed to simply dangle and never [be] disputed by the candidate Biden, on the time, or the moderators,” Davis mentioned.

The Chicks on the Proper put up mentioned Trump was fact-checked however Harris was not. “Through the debate, Trump was fact-checked seven instances, usually inaccurately, whereas Harris was not fact-checked in any respect, regardless of utilizing false claims just like the Charlottesville ‘very fine people‘ narrative.” Nevertheless, the put up did not specify which of the moderators’ truth checks of Trump had been “inaccurate.” The declare Harris was not fact-checked in any respect appropriately pertained solely to the moderators’ correct post-answer clarifications. 

One other a part of the Chicks on the Proper article talked about an unproven conspiracy concept about an ABC Information “whistleblower affidavit.” The baseless rumor claimed a “whistleblower” revealed the community shared debate questions with Harris forward of time and offered different preferential remedy, giving her an unfair benefit over Trump. An extension of the unsupported rumor additionally falsely claimed the purported “whistleblower” died in an automobile crash on Sept. 13.

A spokesperson for ABC Information denied the rumor concerning Harris receiving questions earlier than the talk, telling The Daily Beast, “Completely not,” and, “Harris was not given any questions earlier than the talk.” A spokesperson for the community additionally instructed Snopes, “ABC Information adopted the talk rules that each campaigns agreed on and which clearly state: ‘No matters or questions might be shared upfront with campaigns or candidates.'”

The transient Chicks on the Proper article — which spanned fewer than 300 phrases — closed with a sentence backpedaling on at the very least one declare made within the story with a imprecise reference to “allegations.” The story’s final paragraph additionally included a last sentence about an unspecified “unfavorable implication.” It learn, “Whereas the reality of the allegations can’t be confirmed, they align with the talk’s occasions. Debate moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis haven’t responded, which can recommend a unfavorable implication.”

The debate transcript and full video are on-line for reference. For Snopes’ truth checks overlaying matters debated in the course of the first and presumably solely showdown between Harris and Trump, see our intensive debate coverage.

Sources