Politics

FACT CHECK: Does This TV Screen Show Actual Presidential Election Results?

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An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a TV screen depicting a breaking news report announcing Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won the presidential election.

Verdict: False

The winner of the presidential election has not been declared as of press time. The graphic on the screen shows a prediction video uploaded months before Election Day.

Fact Check:

Misinformation about the presidential election has circulated widely on social media in the days surrounding Election Day.

In this particular image, a TV screen appears to be broadcasting a breaking news report with the chyron saying, “Biden Elected 46th President.” It includes graphics showing Biden winning 289 electoral votes and 49.62 percent of the popular vote, while depicting President Donald Trump as garnering 249 electoral votes and 46.07 percent of the popular vote. An “EP” logo appears in the corner.

While at first glance the image appears authentic, it does not show actual presidential election results but rather a YouTube channel’s prediction. The graphic shown on the TV screen comes from a video, titled “Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden | Election Night Prediction,” that was uploaded to YouTube in June 2020 and can be seen at the roughly 38:10 mark. Election Predictions Official, the channel that posted the video, describes itself as the “fastest growing political channel on Youtube, featuring election predictions, analysis, and so much more.”

The winner of the 2020 presidential election has not been declared at the time of publication. Pivotal states such as Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina remain too close to call as of press time, according to The New York Times.