This is embarrassing. Looks like OAN called the race for Roy Moore on Tuesday — And published a (now deleted) article insisting the samehttps://t.co/Pt7fxIhXaz pic.twitter.com/Mwkk868jq6
— Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) December 14, 2017
Conservative news outlet One America News Network (OANN) appears to have erroneously called Tuesday night’s Senate race in Alabama for Roy Moore (R), who lost the special election to Doug Jones (D) by more than 20,000 votes.
A clip of the news network’s broadcast obtained by The Wrap shows OANN airing a graphic declaring Moore the victor while an off-camera announcer says that the network is calling the race based on “unofficial polling.”
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“We have some breaking news for you that we want to announce. Our unofficial polling shows Senate candidate Roy Moore sweeping the election right now in Alabama by a large margin,” the host says in the video.
The announcer goes on to say that the network’s CEO, Robert Herring, congratulates Moore on running a “fine campaign.”
“Now the president of One America News, Robert Herring, would like to congratulate Moore on the fine campaign that he and his wife have run. Speaking with campaign representatives, we are being told that there are strong signs the majority of voters have now come out in support of the judge,” the host says.
OANN’s website also published an article claiming Moore was the victor, which was subsequently taken down upon the former judge’s defeat, The Wrap reported.
A cached copy of the article reveals the network claimed Moore won “despite attacks from democrats about unverified allegations.”
“Roy Moore wins the Alabama Senate election and will fill the seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions,” the article stated. “Despite attacks from democrats about unverified allegations from nearly 40-years ago, Moore will keep the seat red and republicans will maintain a 52 to 48 majority in the Senate.”
Moore lost Tuesday’s special election after battling allegations for weeks that he pursued relationships with teenager girls as young as 14 when he was a district attorney decades ago.
OANN did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the article or the network’s erroneous on-air call. The network launched in 2013 and is carried by select cable and satellite TV providers.