Bots Attack Nickelodeon’s ‘Kids Pick the President’ Poll in Attempt to Steal Mock Election

Andrew ShusterOct 28th, 2020, 11:01 am

Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon’s “Kids Pick the President” poll was attacked by bots in an attempt to steal the mock election, according to the network. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden was ultimately declared the winner.

The results of the online poll, which was open from Oct. 20 to Oct. 26, were announced Tuesday night during the network’s election special Kids Pick the President: Kids’ Vote. Over 90,000 children participated in the mock election, which saw Biden emerge victorious with 53 percent of the vote compared to President Donald Trump’s 47 percent.

According to a statement from Nickelodeon, the network first detected cheating on Oct. 21 when it discovered online forums discussing plans to corrupt the poll with fake votes. Over 130,000 bot-generated votes were removed from the poll after Nickelodeon employed a voter certification tool to detect the fraudulent ones.

“Though kids are not of an age to vote, Kids Pick the President is a platform where their voices do count, and they deserve to be heard,” Nickelodeon said in a statement. “And just as kids value honesty and fairness, so do we at Nickelodeon. Therefore, out of respect for kids everywhere and in the spirit of civic responsibility, we present the name of the winner based on votes cast fairly and within our stated guidelines of one vote counted per household device.”

The results were announced during the Kids’ Vote special, hosted by Keke Palmer. The hourlong show educated children about the basics of voting and explored issues affecting them, such as the Covid-19 response, racial inequality and climate change.

Making appearances throughout the program included celebrities such as Tyra Banks, Usher, Stephen Curry, DJ Khaled, Miranda Cosgrove and more.

Nickelodeon’s Kids Pick the President: Kids’ Vote has been held during every presidential election since 1988. According to the network, kids have correctly predicted the next president in six out of the past eight elections.