Did Media Outlets Interfere with the Iowa Caucus?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Media outlets across the spectrum are facing criticism over coverage of the Iowa caucuses.
For Context: A number of prominent outlets, from the Associated Press (Lean Left bias) to Fox News (Right bias), declared Donald Trump victorious in Iowa before many Iowans voted. Ron DeSantis’ campaign spokesperson Andrew Romeo accused media outlets of “election interference” for calling the race early.
“Destabilizing Effects”: Dan McLaughlin (Right bias) echoed accusations of election interference, warning of “real reasons to worry about the destabilizing effects in this climate if it happens again in a closer election.” Since Iowa allocates delegates proportionally to the share of the votes, not a winner-take-all system, McLaughlin argued the early declarations potentially impacted DeSantis and Nikki Haley. DeSantis beat out Haley for second place by roughly 2,000 votes. McLaughlin asked, “Would that have been different if a winner wasn’t publicly announced before the voting ended? We can never know.”
“Glib Herd Mentality”: Matt Robison (Lean Left bias) accused media outlets of having a “glib herd mentality” that misinforms the public. Citing headlines that framed Trump’s victory in Iowa as “decisive” and “commanding,” Robison argued the media misled the public on the actual size and extent of Trump’s victory in order to “fit social trends” and narratives. Robison concluded that media outlets “decided in their echo chamber that Iowa was good for Trump. Hence it will be good. They would have been equally justified in saying it was bad. And it would have been.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
No, Trump Did Not 'Conquer Iowa.' How the Media Botched Election Coverage—Again![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-leaning-left.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/trump_1.webp?itok=l95L1wk6)
The biggest story from the Iowa Caucus wasn't about Trump. It was about media, and how their glib herd mentality massively skews our perceptions and drives our politics.
Look at how the major news outlets (the NYT, WaPo, Politico, AP, etc.) uniformly called Trump's Iowa win "decisive," "an early knockout," a "commanding" victory in which he "conquered."
Wait, what?
Donald Trump is, for all intents and purposes, running as the incumbent—quite literally; an astounding two-thirds of Iowa caucus-goers believes he is the legitimate President—yet despite the massive popularity he is...
From the Center
Early call of Trump as winner of Iowa Caucuses stirs anger. Here's why it happened![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Center AllSides Media Bias Rating: Center](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-center.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/72238752007-011524-iowa-caucus-trump-zbh-0041.jpg?itok=yqsNn3FP)
The decision by The Associated Press and other major media outlets to call the Iowa Caucuses a victory for Donald Trump before everyone had cast ballots has angered both Iowans and candidates.
Fox News, CNN and MSNBC also called the race early, about the same time as AP, about 31 minutes after caucuses began at 7 p.m. (The USA TODAY Network relies on the AP to call races.)
Republican Party of Iowa Chair Jeff Kaufmann lambasted the media for the early call, issuing a statement after the AP declared at...
From the Right
Never Call a State Where People Are Still Voting![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-right.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/Voters-iowa.jpg?itok=VQRcvgVv)
The Associated Press and other media outlets interfered in the election last night in Iowa by calling the state for Trump while Iowans were still casting votes in the caucus. Trump’s win wasn’t close, so any effect was on the margins. But that’s no defense. It’s happened before; there are predictable ways to avoid doing it, which were ignored; and there are real reasons to worry about the destabilizing effects in this climate if it happens again in a closer election.
The caucus began at 7 p.m. Central, 8 p.m. on...
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