Univision will not live fact-checking candidates during Harris and Trump town halls

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CNN
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Univision will not stage-check Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump during their respective town halls, the Spanish network confirmed to CNN.

The two town halls, on October 10 and October 16, will be moderated by Enrique Acevedo, the host in Mexico of parent company Televisa’s flagship nightly news program “En Punto.” Acevedo, who was criticized by many last year for what critics saw as a “soft” interview with Trump, has become the brand face of the Mexican broadcaster, which merged with Univision two years ago.

“It will be a keeper of time, keeping the beats and highlighting the question marks,” Univision said in a statement.

Instead, the network plans to check the candidates after the broadcasts and during a special on October 17 at the two town halls called “After the answers” or “After the answers”.

Although the network publicly says there will be no live vetting of the candidates, it’s possible Acevedo will quickly correct the record on stage, a person familiar with the situation said. A spokesperson for TelevisaUnivision told CNN that the fact-checking decision was not a condition for any candidate’s participation.

Fact-checking has become a major sticking point in the 2024 election, with Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, complaining about fact-checking during the debates, arguing that moderators they are taking on Republicans for pointing out falsehoods.

Acevedo’s interview with Trump in November surprised many on and off the network for its softer approach and lack of fact-checking. Star Univision anchor Jorge Ramos, who announced he is leaving the network after four decades, publicly criticized the interview, calling it “very dangerous not to confront Trump.”

But Acevedo defended the interview in a column for The Washington Post, noting it was the first time in 22 years that a current or former Republican president sat down for a network interview.

“By providing a fair platform for Trump’s views, which resonate with a growing segment of Televisa-Univision’s audience, I intentionally gave him ample space,” Acevedo said. “It was a smooth interview by design, not by accident or imposition, as some have suggested.”

Former employees who spoke to CNN expressed concern that the claims would not be questioned during the town halls. But a senior Univision executive defended the decision, noting that fact-checking will still take place after the broadcasts.

“We believe in this format as an ability to facilitate interactions between voters and candidates,” the executive said. “These town halls offer Latino voters an unprecedented opportunity to speak with the candidates. There hasn’t been another national stage for Latinos to have this critical dialogue.”

Univision, the dominant Spanish-language broadcaster in the US, is seen as critical to reaching Hispanic voters. In the past, the network has become known for challenging and messing with Trump, especially Ramos, who has been outspoken about what he has said is Trump’s “racist” language. In 2015, Univision cut business ties with Trump and publicly called out what it called “derogatory statements” after Trump said Mexican immigrants brought “drugs” and “rapists.”

For voters, the town halls may be one of the last major open forums to question and challenge both candidates, as Trump has refused to participate in further debates and recently pulled out of a “60 Minutes” interview. Harris recently agreed to participate in a CNN town hall on Oct. 23.