ABC’s local affiliate WNEP-TV in Pennsylvania is at the center of controversy after it aired a graphic during a Sunday broadcast showing Kamala Harris winning Pennsylvania with 100% of precincts reporting, more than a week before the November 5 Election Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a rally at Shell Energy Stadium on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas.

The incident, which occurred during coverage of the Formula 1 Mexico Grand Prix, displayed Harris as securing 52% of the vote over Donald Trump’s 47%, sparking a wave of conspiracy theories online about election integrity.

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The unexpected “results” caught viewers’ attention and led to accusations of election tampering. Social media users quickly weighed in, with one user posting on X, “The cheat is on! Stop the steal!”

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The station later addressed the incident, explaining that the graphic was part of a system test and did not represent real voting data.

In a statement to The Daily Mail, WNEP-TV clarified, “Those numbers should not have appeared on the screen, and it was an error by WNEP that they did.” The station elaborated that the graphic displayed “randomly generated” numbers, used to ensure the network’s systems are prepared for election night.

The station added, “The numbers were not reflective of any actual vote count. Pennsylvania law does not allow mail-in ballots to be taken out of their envelopes until 7:00 a.m. on Election Day, and no votes of any kind will be counted in Pennsylvania until after the polls close at 8:00 p.m.

WNEP regrets the error and apologizes for any confusion. We have taken steps to ensure that it does not happen again.”

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With Trump currently leading by a slim margin of 0.7% in Pennsylvania, according to Real Clear Politics, showing 48.2% over Harris’s 47.5%, the state remains one of the tightest battlegrounds in the race. In the 2020 election, Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by a narrow margin of 80,555 votes, or 1.17%, capturing the state’s 20 electoral votes.

With Pennsylvania’s history of razor-thin margins, any misrepresentation of results has amplified skepticism among Trump supporters, who have circulated the WNEP footage with renewed scrutiny.

The incident has also added to criticism of Disney-owned ABC, which has faced accusations of bias throughout the election season.

The network, which aired the presidential debate on September 10, received backlash from conservative viewers who alleged that moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis showed favoritism toward Harris.

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Critics argued that while Trump was subject to continuous fact-checks, Harris was not scrutinized as closely by the moderators.

Compounding ABC’s election season scrutiny, a whistleblower recently claimed that questions were shared with the Harris campaign ahead of the debate, fueling conservative criticisms of media bias.

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Further, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have published profiles highlighting a close relationship between Harris and Dana Walden, a top Disney executive and rumored candidate for the company’s CEO role.

Walden’s association with Harris and political donations have led to questions about the media giant’s influence on the election.

While Walden has attempted to distance herself from ABC’s news division, her past political contributions and fundraising activities for Harris have fueled conservative concerns over impartiality.

The controversies have heightened ongoing discussions around media neutrality and its role in the electoral process, especially with Election Day approaching and stakes high in swing states like Pennsylvania.

With WNEP’s unintended broadcast stirring debates on election transparency and ABC facing scrutiny over alleged bias, conservative audiences are voicing renewed concerns over media influence and trustworthiness in the lead-up to November 5.

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