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ACTION ALERT: NBC Garbles Graph on Democrats' Electability ([link removed])

by Jim Naureckas

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Many ([link removed]) Democratic voters ([link removed]) say that the most important thing they're looking for in a presidential candidate is an ability to defeat Donald Trump. NBC News did such voters a disservice by misrepresenting the results of a survey of head-to-head matchups in a story that came out just before the crucial Iowa caucuses ([link removed]) .

The story, "NBC/WSJ poll: Country Remains Divided Over Trump's Impeachment Trial" (2/2/20 ([link removed]) ), included a graphic depicting the results when a January 26–29 poll asked how people would vote in series of hypothetical contests with Trump. It showed Trump losing to Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, but defeating Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg:

Poll showing incorrect numbers for matchups between Trump and Democratic candidates

But the graphic contradicted the text of the article, by NBC's Mark Murray ([link removed]) , which said that the poll found that all four candidates would defeat Trump:

Looking ahead to the 2020 general election that’s still more than 270 days away, the NBC/WSJ poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Trump nationally by 6 points among registered voters, 50% to 44% — though that’s down from Biden’s 9-point advantage in October.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I–Vt., is ahead of Trump by 4 points, 49% to 45% — a drop from Sanders’ 7-point lead in July.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D–Mass., holds a 3-point advantage over Trump, 48% to 45%, and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg leads Trump by 1 point, 46% to 45%.

The graphic, which is still on NBC's website, understates both Biden and Sanders' margins over Trump by 1 percentage point, turns a 3-point advantage for Warren into a 1-point deficit, and reverses Buttigieg's 1-point lead into a 1-point loss.

The full data from the poll, which the article links ([link removed]) to, jibes with the text and not with the graphic:

Data from NBC/WSJ poll

ACTION ALERT: Please contact NBC and tell them to correct a February 2 graphic showing two of four leading Democratic candidates losing to Donald Trump.

CONTACT:

Web form: Contact NBC News ([link removed])

Twitter: @NBCNews ([link removed])

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