Nate Silver blasts ex-bosses at ABC for deleting FiveThirtyEight archives: ‘bunch of a–holes’

Nypost · May 15, 2026 · 410 words · By Ariel Zilber

Media Management Digital Preservation Corporate Conflict

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What to know about Media Management

Nate Silver blasts ex-bosses at ABC for deleting FiveThirtyEight archives: ‘bunch of a–holes’ Nate Silver slammed his former ABC News employers as “a bunch of a–holes” on Friday after the Disney-owned network took down the entire archives of his now-defunct…

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Silver — the data geek who rose to prominence by using statistical models to accurately predict the results of the 2008 presidential election and many Senate races — referred to ABC News executives as a “bunch of a–holes” on Friday.

Common ground

He shared a visceral reaction to an X post from former FiveThirtyEight colleague Nathaniel Rakich, who wrote: “ABC News has now taken all FiveThirtyEight articles completely offline.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Media Management story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The New York Times licensed FiveThirtyEight in 2010?
How does this story connect Media Management with Digital Preservation over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/15/media/nate-silver-blasts-ex-bosses-at-abc-for-dele…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 90% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 3

check_circle Corroborated 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

schedule Pending 1

info

Claim 1: “The New York Times licensed FiveThirtyEight in 2010”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence consists of generic homepages for Google News, Fox News, and NYT, with no mention of a 2010 licensing agreement.

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web search NEUTRAL — Stay updated with the latest news and stories from around the world on Google News.
https://news.google.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Breaking News, Latest News and Current News from FOXNews.com. Breaking news and video. Latest Current News: U.S., World, Entertainment, Health, Business, Technology ...
https://www.foxnews.com/

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web search NEUTRAL — Stay informed with The New York Times' comprehensive coverage of global news, politics, business, arts, sports and more.
https://www.nytimes.com/

info

Claim 2: “Nate Silver used statistical models to accurately predict the results of the 2008 presidential election and many Senate races.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results regarding HVACR certification (NATE), not Nate Silver.

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 10, 2026 · NATE is the nation’s largest nonprofit certification organization for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) technicians. © 2026 NATE.
https://natex.org/

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 10, 2026 · Please submit your questions regarding the NATE certification program and careers in the HVACR industry using the form below. One of our team members will respond to your inquiry.
https://natex.org/category/technician/become-nate-certified

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web search NEUTRAL — 3 days ago · Join hundreds of members who are part of NATE’s efforts to advance the communications infrastructure industry. Become part of a dynamic community of industry leaders and innovators. Wheth…
https://natehome.com/

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Claim 3: “ABC News has now taken all FiveThirtyEight articles completely offline. They now redirect to abcnews dot com/politics.”

CORROBORATED

Three separate web search results explicitly state that ABC News took FiveThirtyEight articles offline and redirected them to abcnews.com/politics.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — ABC News has now taken all FiveThirtyEight articles completely offline. They now redirect to abcnews dot com/politics. A needless erasure of thousands of pages of knowledge.
https://www.mediaite.com/online/nate-silver-trashes-aholes-a…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — ABC News has now taken all FiveThirtyEight articles completely offline. They now redirect to abcnews dot com/politics. A needless erasure of thousands of pages of knowledge.
https://nypost.com/2026/05/15/media/nate-silver-blasts-ex-bo…

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web search NEUTRAL — Nathaniel Rakich (@baseballot). 102 replies. ABC News has now taken all FiveThirtyEight articles completely offline. They now redirect to abcnews dot com/politics. A needless erasure of thousands of p…
https://x.com/baseballot/status/2055309076209492208

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Claim 4: “ABC News took down the entire archives of his now-defunct FiveThirtyEight news site.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results confirm that ABC News shut down the FiveThirtyEight website and removed its archives.

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web search NEUTRAL — FiveThirtyEight, also rendered as 538, was an American website that focused on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FiveThirtyEight

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web search NEUTRAL — Why not keep the FiveThirtyEight site up and running — at least for a while, if not in perpetuity? It costs practically nothing to run a server for a static/archived website. I don’t get it. It betray…
https://daringfireball.net/2025/03/abc_shuts_down_fivethirty…

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web search NEUTRAL — The site was ultimately downsized and integrated into ABC News, losing much of its independent identity. Karamehmedovic informed the FiveThirtyEight team of their layoffs during a brief virtual meetin…
https://nypost.com/2025/03/06/media/abc-news-entirely-gutted…

info

Claim 5: “Silver claimed that he tried to buy the site back from ABC News but was rebuffed.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim describes Nate Silver's general biography and role as founder, but does not mention an attempt to buy the site back from ABC News.

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web search NEUTRAL — Nathaniel Read Silver is an American statistician, political analyst, author, sports gambler, and poker player who analyzes baseball, basketball, football, and elections.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Silver

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web search NEUTRAL — Nate Silver is a statistician and polling expert best known as the founder of FiveThirtyEight. Silver has been credited with greatly increasing the popularity of political polling and poll analysis wi…
https://www.influencewatch.org/person/nate-silver/

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web search NEUTRAL — Nate Silver. @natesilver538.Live From New York: It's The FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast! Apr.
https://fivethirtyeight.com/contributors/nate-silver/

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Claim 6: “Silver correctly predicted the winner of all 50 states and Washington, DC, in the 2012 presidential election.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (indy100, The Independent) confirm Silver correctly predicted the winner of all 50 states and DC in 2012.

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web search NEUTRAL — In the 2012 US presidential election, FiveThirtyEight editor Nate Silver correctly predicted the winner of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.Silver's prediction, a snapshot based on who would…
https://www.indy100.com/news/america-s-best-election-forecas…

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web search NEUTRAL — Nate Silver correctly predicted the outcome in all 50 states at the 2012 presidential election.The 2016 model includes deep dives into polls from all 50 states, and gives Ms Clinton a good chance of w…
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic…

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web search NEUTRAL — blog, correctly predicted who would win 49 of 50 states in the 2012 presidential election. Florida is still counting votes. Silver predicted Obama's probability of winning the state was 50.3 percent.
https://www.syracuse.com/news/2012/11/nate_silver_gets_all_5…

help

Claim 7: “In 2018, Disney shifted FiveThirtyEight from ESPN to ABC News.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the gathered results.

verified

Claim 8: “FiveThirtyEight was founded by Silver in 2008 as an independent election-forecasting blog named after the number of electors in the Electoral College.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Silver founded FiveThirtyEight in 2008 as a blog named after the number of electors in the Electoral College.

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web search NEUTRAL — Since departing FiveThirtyEight, Silver has been publishing in his online newsletter Silver Bulletin and serves as an advisor to Polymarket.Often colloquially referred to as just 538, the website take…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nate_Silver

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web search NEUTRAL — The statistician and writer Nate Silver founded FiveThirtyEight as a blog in 2008, naming it after the number of votes in the Electoral College.In 2012, FiveThirtyEight accurately predicted the result…
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/business/media/espn-fivet…

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web search NEUTRAL — On March 7, 2008, Silver launched his own blog, FiveThirtyEight.com. The website is often called just 538. Its name comes from the total number of electors in the United States electoral college.
https://kids.kiddle.co/Nate_Silver

help

Claim 9: “Silver exited ABC News in 2023 during sweeping Disney layoffs that gutted the FiveThirtyEight newsroom.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was provided for this claim in the gathered results.

verified

Claim 10: “Disney-owned ESPN acquired it in 2013 and relaunched it as a broader data-driven news and sports site.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and other web sources confirm that Disney-owned ESPN acquired FiveThirtyEight in 2013.

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web search NEUTRAL — ESPN acquired FiveThirtyEight in 2013, after Silver correctly predicted the 2012 election for the New York Times.
https://www.westernjournal.com/viewers-winning-espn-politica…

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web search NEUTRAL — > "In July 2013, ESPN (owned by Disney) acquired FiveThirtyEight, hiring Silver as editor-in-chief and a contributor for ESPN.com; the new publication launched on March 17, 2014." > "BB-8 was first se…
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35795747

schedule

Claim 11: “In March of last year, Disney shut down the remaining FiveThirtyEight operation as part of another round of cuts.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.