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Tim Walz vs JD Vance: CBS News draws ire for declaring moderators won't fact-check VP debate; ‘It’s mud wrestling’
Tim Walz and JD Vance, the vice presidential contenders, will square off this Tuesday in CBS-hosted event in New York City.
Tim Walz and JD Vance, the vice presidential contenders, will square off this Tuesday in CBS-hosted event in New York City. The broadcaster revealed prior to the Oct. 1 debate that both the rivals would be in charge of fact-checking each other instead of moderators Norah O'Donnell and Margaret Brennan.
CBS News' announcement comes weeks after ABC's moderators were blasted for fact-checking Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The criticism came after Trump claimed that ABC has violated a pre-debate deal by fact-checking him on various issues about Haitian immigrants and rising crime rates in the US.
Expressing his frustration with David Muir's moderation, he said, “I had one against three, but I think we did great. But David Muir of ABC, fake news, when I said that crime is way up in our country, he corrected me... but he didn’t correct Kamala Harris one time.” He further claimed that his statistics on crime rates were accurate.
The former president further asserted that prior to the debate, ABC News had reached a “deal” with his campaign that said no fact-checks would be conducted during the program.
Also Read: Kamala Harris raises $55 million in California fundraisers, gaining edge over rival Donald Trump
CBS comes under fire following announcement
The moderators are appointed in accordance with the editorial standards of CBS News to both assist and uphold the rules of the discussion between the candidates. But when it comes to fact-checking during the broadcast, they delegate that task to the candidates. CBS News Confirmed Unit confirmed their journalists will provide live fact-checking via an online blog.
Although CBS was once “the gold standard for television news,” political scientist Norman Ornstein lamented that “those days and their standards are long gone”.
Reacting to CBS News on fact-checking candidates during a debate, Jay Rosen, a journalism professor in New York University, stated, “ABC showed it could be done.”
“CBS announced they’re not a news org, don’t think they need to *give viewers truth or protect democracy*," wrote columnist Cliff Schecter.
He reminded CBS News that “If there’s not truth, it’s not a debate, it’s mud wrestling.” Speaking of mud, he stated, Trump's VP Vance has demonstrated “he’ll make s–t up anytime, anywhere. Then admit he lied, like Springfield. Good to know CBS is all NOT over that.”
Author Denver Riggleman called it “ironic” that CBS News will not fact check the Walz-Vance debate.
