No, there was no delay on Biden/Trump debate broadcast, CNN says | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY

June 28, 2024 at 4:23 p.m.·2 min read

The claim: CNN aired live presidential debate with an extended delay

A June 27 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims CNN manipulated its live broadcast of the presidential debate.

"CNN will implement a one-to-two-minute delay for tonight's debate instead of the standard seven-second delay, potentially allowing time to edit parts of the broadcast," reads text within the post.

The post garnered more than 6,000 likes in a day. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.

More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Our rating: False

CNN said it did not implement a one-to-two-minute delay during its live broadcast. There's no evidence this happened.

No delay in live broadcast

The 90-minute presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump was hosted by CNN in Atlanta, Georgia, and moderated by anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. Hours before the live televised event began on June 27, social media users started claiming the network would be implem enting an unusually long delay in the broadcast.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot even started regurgitating the false claim when asked about the supposed delay, according to NBC News.

But none of the social media posts provided any evidence to back the claim up, and there is no credible news reporting about the network implementing such a delay.

Fact check: No (sigh) Biden didn't fall asleep during debate

The CNN communications team quickly refuted the assertion in a June 27 X post responding to a version of the claim, saying, "This is false. The debate will begin live at 9 p.m. ET."

Emily Kuhn, a CNN spokesperson, reiterated this information in an email to USA TODAY, saying, "The debate aired last night without a delay."

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

Emily Kuhn, June 28, Email exchange with USA TODAY
CNN Communications, June 27, X post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CNN didn't delay presidential debate by 1-2 minutes | Fact check

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The claim: CNN aired live presidential debate with an extended delay

Our rating: False

No delay in live broadcast

Our fact-check sources:

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