A host of establishment media outlets are declaring victory for Hillary Clinton weeks before the U.S. presidential election — as they did on the eve of the Democratic primary in California, causing Bernie Sanders supporters to suspect coordinated voter suppression.
A couple headlines from the past week show the pro-Clinton talking point in wide circulation:
New York Times: “Early Voting Could Point to Hillary Clinton Victory Well Before Nov. 8”
ABC News: “Irish Bookies Are So Confident Clinton Will Win, They’re Already Paying Out”
Steve Goldstein, DC Bureau Chief of MarketWatch: “The election’s over — Hillary Clinton won”
NPR: “NPR Battleground Map: Hillary Clinton Is Winning — And It’s Not Close”
[UPDATE: NPR is explicitly citing Clinton “leading by a lot” as a reason “not to worry about a ‘rigged’ election”]
There are many reasons not to worry about a "rigged" election. Here are just a few: https://t.co/htO6WoJQUi pic.twitter.com/GT0PP05GFB
— NPR (@NPR) October 18, 2016
Los Angeles Times: “Even lots of Donald Trump’s supporters are starting to think he’ll lose the election”
And several outlets are even setting expectations for a Clinton “landslide”:
FiveThirtyEight: “Should Clinton Play For An Electoral College Landslide?”
Washington Post: “As Trump stumbles, Clinton weighs a striking choice: Expand the map or stick to the plan”
Vox: “The polls are split between Hillary Clinton winning and … Hillary Clinton winning in a landslide”
The drumbeat of an inevitable Clinton victory recalls an Associated Press story one day before the California Democratic primary.
BREAKING: @AP finds Clinton reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination for president pic.twitter.com/e473F0G4vX
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 7, 2016
AP reporters Hope Yen, Stephen Ohlemacher, Lisa Lerer (who indicated she would attend an off-the-record dinner at John Podesta’s home days before Clinton entered the 2016 race), and Catherine Lucey declared Clinton the presumptive nominee based on commitments from superdelegates.
A host of Sanders supporters and media surrogates said AP’s premature declaration of victory led to a massive drop in turnout after record voter registrations:
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/740599850002157569
Shame on you AP! Superdelegates dont vote until the convention. Story of #Hillary nom is false and aims to suppress voters. #CAvotesCount
— Josh Fox (@joshfoxfilm) June 7, 2016
Hillary has not clinched the nomination. @AP reports are examples of irresponsible journalism and voter suppression #ShowUp #CAVotesCount
— Foster The People (@fosterthepeople) June 7, 2016
https://twitter.com/BrandonReyR/status/739987732684890112
What benefit could this serve on the eve of the California primary other than to prejudice the voters? Why not wait 24 hours?
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) June 7, 2016
A wave of Donald Trump supporters are using social media to call out reporters for this same tactic. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has attacked the U.S. election process as “rigged,” taking aim particularly at corporate media. Reporters at establishment press outlets have turned this into a conversation about voter fraud, which they insist does not exist — despite two Democratic operatives losing their jobs over a sting investigation by independent journalist James O’Keefe and his organization Project Veritas.
However, Trump supporters and even non-partisan observers are turning the conversation back to establishment media and its attempt to declare the race over:
Do not tell the voters it is over before a single vote is casted and counted…(2)
— Gadiri Diallo (@gadiri28) October 12, 2016
https://twitter.com/JEFletcher/status/788694558527946752
On CNN, you'd think Clinton has already won, Buh in reality, no one knows who's gonna win
— Chuma (AKUNATAKASI) (@Chu_moni) October 19, 2016
CNN pushes lies to suppress voter turnout knowing full well if big turnout, it means Change. CNN propaganda / tactics? @wolfblitzer #debates
— ebaca (@edmondsburnaby) October 18, 2016
Good morning Trumpettes! They'recalling the election for HC now: don't listen! They are trying to depress turnout: vote DT!!!
— Babzbee (@patriotbabz) October 19, 2016
This is the kind of "reporting" we get from the HillaryPAC news outlets while scandals break loose… They work to depress Trump turnout… https://t.co/B0ReCbWfvj
— ĆΔŞĆΔĐ€ (@PAC_CASCADE_NW) October 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/SlickedBackSilv/status/788739710013181952
https://twitter.com/tigertrollz2/status/788506004904259585
Liberal media with fake scandals & polls RIGGING the presidential election. Try to lower our expectations so his turnout's low. Vote Trump!
— J.D.Wright (@aerialmovie) October 18, 2016
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