Zürcher Nachrichten - Fox News vindicated over early US election call once again

EUR -
AED 3.942456
AFN 72.450613
ALL 98.078683
AMD 415.778236
ANG 1.934387
AOA 979.438284
ARS 1065.508182
AUD 1.633624
AWG 1.932056
AZN 1.821931
BAM 1.960209
BBD 2.167147
BDT 128.267497
BGN 1.954603
BHD 0.404468
BIF 3107.390241
BMD 1.073365
BND 1.433552
BOB 7.41627
BRL 6.091453
BSD 1.073299
BTN 90.816828
BWP 14.465686
BYN 3.512334
BYR 21037.944294
BZD 2.163498
CAD 1.496506
CDF 3078.409492
CHF 0.940761
CLF 0.037478
CLP 1034.122431
CNY 7.701925
CNH 7.641599
COP 4735.952536
CRC 550.28142
CUC 1.073365
CUP 28.444159
CVE 108.785516
CZK 25.350763
DJF 190.758889
DKK 7.458387
DOP 64.732473
DZD 143.557163
EGP 52.857404
ERN 16.100468
ETB 130.467653
FJD 2.447382
FKP 0.821305
GBP 0.832947
GEL 2.924884
GGP 0.821305
GHS 17.613906
GIP 0.821305
GMD 76.745355
GNF 9263.135599
GTQ 8.283212
GYD 224.551398
HKD 8.347931
HNL 26.941558
HRK 7.394441
HTG 141.218851
HUF 409.824481
IDR 16961.842587
ILS 4.012263
IMP 0.821305
INR 90.523215
IQD 1406.107501
IRR 45194.012626
ISK 148.317327
JEP 0.821305
JMD 170.012438
JOD 0.761232
JPY 165.964706
KES 138.463876
KGS 92.535458
KHR 4368.593073
KMF 492.27177
KPW 966.027812
KRW 1502.608307
KWD 0.329351
KYD 0.894483
KZT 529.12723
LAK 23538.883466
LBP 96656.681123
LKR 314.274768
LRD 204.073422
LSL 18.934171
LTL 3.169366
LVL 0.649268
LYD 5.200432
MAD 10.61665
MDL 19.196703
MGA 4958.943758
MKD 61.734027
MMK 3486.246042
MNT 3647.292617
MOP 8.594573
MRU 42.84338
MUR 49.932874
MVR 16.532327
MWK 1863.36104
MXN 21.576827
MYR 4.726561
MZN 68.593388
NAD 18.93365
NGN 1796.219725
NIO 39.47295
NOK 11.884915
NPR 145.315745
NZD 1.806574
OMR 0.413247
PAB 1.073279
PEN 4.062684
PGK 4.30768
PHP 63.140651
PKR 298.290175
PLN 4.353079
PYG 8343.769086
QAR 3.907959
RON 4.975477
RSD 117.0332
RUB 104.358358
RWF 1459.775727
SAR 4.032235
SBD 8.945325
SCR 14.582254
SDG 645.627144
SEK 11.649509
SGD 1.431595
SHP 0.821305
SLE 24.324706
SLL 22507.913551
SOS 612.891302
SRD 37.389548
STD 22216.478135
SVC 9.391871
SYP 2696.860807
SZL 18.934178
THB 36.891547
TJS 11.430432
TMT 3.767509
TND 3.346718
TOP 2.513926
TRY 36.711003
TTD 7.27788
TWD 34.710243
TZS 2924.917981
UAH 44.499309
UGX 3949.885161
USD 1.073365
UYU 44.664007
UZS 13739.06598
VEF 3888319.307307
VES 46.587491
VND 27247.357955
VUV 127.432023
WST 3.006692
XAF 657.494208
XAG 0.03182
XAU 0.000394
XCD 2.900821
XDR 0.80418
XOF 655.287608
XPF 119.331742
YER 268.153316
ZAR 18.929879
ZMK 9661.566125
ZMW 29.087736
ZWL 345.622933
  • RBGPF

    3.1700

    64.17

    +4.94%

  • RYCEF

    0.0800

    7.38

    +1.08%

  • CMSC

    -0.1700

    24.51

    -0.69%

  • SCS

    0.7400

    13.06

    +5.67%

  • NGG

    -1.3500

    64.12

    -2.11%

  • GSK

    -1.1200

    35.9

    -3.12%

  • RIO

    -0.1700

    65.33

    -0.26%

  • VOD

    -0.1000

    9.31

    -1.07%

  • AZN

    -2.4200

    63.85

    -3.79%

  • BTI

    0.1800

    35.64

    +0.51%

  • RELX

    -0.2000

    47.71

    -0.42%

  • BCC

    3.2700

    141.76

    +2.31%

  • CMSD

    -0.1900

    24.85

    -0.76%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.25

    -0.15%

  • BCE

    -0.1000

    28.74

    -0.35%

  • BP

    0.2000

    30.16

    +0.66%

Fox News vindicated over early US election call once again
Fox News vindicated over early US election call once again / Photo: JOE RAEDLE - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Fox News vindicated over early US election call once again

In the 2020 US presidential election, Fox News triggered controversy by calling the state of Arizona for Joe Biden days before competitor outlets deemed it safe to do so.

Text size:

The call was ultimately correct -- but it prompted widespread skepticism from other media companies over Fox's procedures, as well as anger from Donald Trump supporters, many of whom temporarily saw some viewers turn their backs on the network in protest.

This year, the arch-conservative news organization was out front once again -- this time calling Trump as the winner of the presidency hours before competitors.

The back-to-back correct calls highlight Fox's increasingly large role -- and responsibility -- as the most watched of the three major US cable news networks, especially in an era ripe for disinformation that Fox itself often fuels.

Fox is a decidedly partisan network that vies to stay at the forefront of conservative ideological battles -- but it's also established among the US news outlets whose "decision desks" call elections.

Those desks -- teams of statisticians, analysts and journalists armed with mountains of data -- feed media outlets with results as they roll in.

A consortium of channels including ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN work with the Edison Research Institute, which provides exit polls, projections and counts. Fox News, like the Associated Press news agency, works with the NORC Institute at the University of Chicago, using a survey system called AP VoteCast.

It is up to those individual networks to create their own standards on how they use the data and make calls.

The 2020 Arizona call against Trump had Fox News on the defensive, although they never backtracked and were ultimately vindicated.

But internal communications made public as part of a defamation lawsuit -- Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox after the network asserted the voting machine company rigged the 2020 vote, resulting in a massive $787.5 million settlement -- revealed infighting over the call.

The communications included clear concern about backlash from Trump’s team, leaving some viewers and analysts wondering if politics were factoring into decision desk calls -- and whether they would this time around.

Politics or not, Fox was right in its early Wednesday call: Trump will indeed be the 47th president of the United States.

F.Carpenteri--NZN