CBS News has announced it will not have its moderators fact-check the candidates during the Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday. Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather believes that’s a poor decision.
In a post to his Substack Monday evening, the longtime news anchor noted that he does not condemn his former television home often.
“I am always reluctant to criticize CBS News,” wrote Rather. 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.”
However, he believes it is both necessary for the network to fact-check the candidates and believes that in spite of his reluctance to criticize his former network, the decision needs to be called out.
“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,” he wrote.”
He concluded by sharing his belief that the network is afraid of undergoing similar pushback to what ABC News received, and lobbied that the television network should stand up to those critical of the choice.
“Simply put, this ‘rule,’ imposed by CBS, incentivizes lying. It invites the participants to bend the truth, since their opponent then has to spend his rebuttal time calling out the lie, rather than giving an opposing view. And the calling out of a lie by an opponent rather than an impartial moderator is less credible,” Rather said.
“It seems clear that CBS is trying to avoid the blowback ABC got after the presidential debate. A journalist, much less a news organization, should not be afraid to take heat. 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.”
