Chelsea Purgahn/Tyler Morning Telegraph via AP
Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather tore into his former network on Tuesday for refusing to fact-check its first vice presidential debate between JD Vance and Tim Walz.
In an article published to Substack, Rather predicted Vance would tell “more than one lie” during the debate, before adding, “Who’s going to fact check you? Well, apparently not CBS News.”
He continued:
Please allow me to pause here and say that I am always reluctant to criticize CBS News. I spent 45 years there. Loved every minute of it, even the worst times. I still pull for the important institution that it is, and for the many good people who work there.With that as background, it is necessary to report and comment on the fact that CBS News has decided not to fact-check the candidates in real time. I would love to know what went into this decision, because it feels spineless, especially after ABC’s Linsey Davis and David Muir effectively and correctly fact-checked Trump during the debate with
Kamala Harris.
Rather criticized CBS News’ decision to provide a live fact-check online instead of at the event, questioning, “So, the audience is expected to watch the debate and simultaneously monitor a blog?”
He then argued, “Simply put, this ‘rule,’ imposed by CBS, incentivizes lying. It invites the participants to bend the truth.”
Rather acknowledged that while CBS was likely trying to avoid the criticism ABC received for fact-checking the debate in real-time, “a journalist, much less a news organization, should not be afraid to take heat.”
He concluded, “Their responsibility is to call out lies. If they don’t do that on live television, during the most consequential election in modern history, they are the lesser for it. But the biggest loser is the American electorate.”
CBS also received criticism from former election analyst Norman Ornstein, who called the decision not to provide a live fact-check “pathetic.”
“I spent 30 years as an election analyst for CBS. It was the gold standard for television news. Those days, and their standards, are long gone,” he protested.
CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell and Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan will serve as the moderators of Tuesday evening’s vice presidential debate.
Vance and Walz will each be given two minutes to respond to questions and, unlike the two recent presidential debates, will feature hot microphones. O’Donnell and