ABC News has unceremoniously shuttered FiveThirtyEight, the left-leaning polling site notorious for consistently over-predicting Democrat chances in major elections. The closure comes after the site’s humiliating failure in the recent presidential race where it wrongly gave Kamala Harris better odds than Donald Trump.
At a glance:
• ABC News shut down FiveThirtyEight, laying off all 15 remaining employees
• The site had incorrectly predicted Harris had a better chance than Trump in the recent election
• Trump won the electoral college 312-226 and the popular vote with 49.9% to Harris’ 48.4%
• Staff learned of layoffs from a Wall Street Journal report before official announcement
• The closure is part of broader cuts affecting nearly 6% of ABC News and Disney Entertainment workforce
Another Left-Leaning Media Casualty
ABC News has abruptly closed FiveThirtyEight, a data-focused site that repeatedly tilted left in its political analysis and polling projections. The shutdown affects all 15 employees at the progressive outlet, who were informed in a brief 15-minute meeting where ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic read from a prepared statement without taking questions.
Following the meeting, staff immediately lost access to ABC News systems, and the FiveThirtyEight website was taken offline. The layoffs are part of a broader reduction at ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks, with approximately 200 employees, or nearly 6% of the workforce, being let go in what insiders described as a “massacre.”
The site’s credibility had been in freefall following a series of prediction failures, most notably claiming Harris had a 50% chance of winning against Trump’s 49% and a 71% chance of winning the national popular vote. Reality proved much different when Trump decisively won the electoral college 312-226 and secured the popular vote with 49.9% to Harris’ 48.4%.
Failed Predictions Doomed The Site
FiveThirtyEight Founder Nate Silver, who left the company two years ago, made particularly embarrassing miscalculations during the recent election cycle. He incorrectly suggested Harris could win Florida, a state Trump handily won by 13 points, and consistently underestimated Trump’s growing support across key demographics.
Conservative commentator Mollie Hemingway assessed the situation, noting: “Seems as if 538 is being shut down because the polling games and information operations they long played on behalf of Democrats are no longer as effective as they need to be to justify their existence.” The shutdown represents a significant blow to the Democrat-aligned media ecosystem that failed to accurately capture the mood of American voters.
G. Elliott Morris, Editorial Director of Data Analytics at FiveThirtyEight, confirmed the site’s demise, stating: “This is a significant setback for political data journalism. Readers, please note: As we were instructed not to publish any new content, all scheduled updates to polls data and averages are canceled indefinitely.”
Media Landscape Shifting Right
The closure of FiveThirtyEight signals a broader shift in the media landscape, with legacy outlets losing influence as their coverage increasingly fails to convince American voters. The site’s workforce had already been shrinking, down from 35 employees in 2023 to just 15 at the time of shutdown.
ABC News claims it plans to continue offering political data analysis and polling coverage, but without the dedicated FiveThirtyEight team. The news division is undergoing major restructuring, merging long-form programming units like 20/20 and Nightline into one program and combining Good Morning America’s three hours of branded shows into a single production team.
The shutdown represents another casualty in the media industry, which has been experiencing widespread layoffs as audiences increasingly reject left-leaning narratives. FiveThirtyEight’s presidential approval ratings consistently showed decreasing support for Trump, while more balanced sources like RealClearPolitics showed more stable and favorable numbers for the President.
