Breitbart News outperformed its competitors on Facebook during the week of the first 2024 presidential debate, according to data from Meta-owned CrowdTangle.
During the week leading up to the debate, from Sunday, June 23 to Saturday, June 29, Breitbart News led the way in publishing articles that were more than adequate to cover the debate’s content. The New York Times, The Washington PostAxios, POLITICOand HuffPost on Facebook.
A quick look at the chart covering those dates shows a total of 1.88 million interactions, with Breitbart News coming in at 1.04 million, followed by 428,000. The New York TimesHuffington Post has 203.7k, The Washington Post33.1k POLITICOand 31.4k for Axios.
However, Breitbart News received significantly more shares and comments than other news sites, with 225.9k comments and 88.7k shares. Times It came in second in comments and shares with 121.6k and 35.3k respectively.
Cloud Tangle
Additionally, during that same seven-day period, Breitbart News outperformed conservative media outlets The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, Red State, Western Journal and Town Hall. National Reviewand TheBlaze combined total on Facebook.
From Sunday, June 23 through Saturday, June 29, these publications recorded a combined 2.03 million interactions, with Breitbart News accounting for more than half of those, at 1.04 million. The Daily Wire came in second on Facebook with a total of 317.8k interactions, followed by the Daily Caller (297.3k), TheBlaze (190.2k), Western Journal (106.8k), Townhall (46.9k), RedState (28k), and National Review (2.2k).
Cloud Tangle
“At Breitbart News, we are responsible first and foremost to a group of people: the public,” Breitbart News editor-in-chief Alex Marlow said of the story.
“These numbers show that we’re outperforming all of our traditional media competitors combined, which shows that we’re delivering more of the content people actually want to read than any other media outlet. While I don’t expect more from our team, it’s still very encouraging,” he continued.
“We at Breitbart News are, as always, keeping our finger on the pulse of the news,” Marlow added. “The numbers prove it. They’re clear.”
The data reflects what many consider to be the most crucial week of the election cycle so far, as both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden faced off in the first in-person debate of 2024. Despite a week of “debate camp” at Camp David, the debate did not bode well for Biden. The 81-year-old Biden often appeared confused during the debate, even awkwardly freezing up just minutes into the debate. Biden also attempted to revive some of the Democratic talking points that had been thoroughly refuted, from the “very fine people” hoax to the “suckers and losers” fabrication. When he wasn’t doing so, he repeated the phrase “that idea” 27 times, as recorded by Breitbart News that night.
Many Democrats initially panicked, acknowledging that it was not a great night for the president.
RELATED — “Panic!” CNN panel upset over Biden’s disastrous debate performance
CNN
But it didn’t take long for Democratic officials, particularly former President Barack Obama, to come to Biden’s rescue amid the furore, urging Americans to ignore Biden’s lackluster debate performance.
“Sometimes debate nights don’t go well, believe me, I know,” Obama said in a statement shared on social media on June 28. “But this election is a choice between someone who has spent their whole life fighting for ordinary people and someone who only thinks about themselves.”
“Between someone who will tell the truth, who will know right from wrong, who will be honest with the American people, and someone who will lie for his own gain,” Obama said, concluding at the debate that “the situation hasn’t changed. And that’s why so much is at stake in November.”
Sometimes debates go horribly. Believe me, I know. But this election is a choice between someone who has spent their whole life fighting for the common man and someone who only thinks about themselves. Someone who will tell the truth, who knows right from wrong, and tell the people that.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 28, 2024
Biden’s family has reportedly urged him to ignore the uproar and continue his campaign. Biden has since made it clear he has no intention of stepping down, and many prominent Democratic governors, from California Governor Gavin Newsom to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, have issued public messages of support for Biden after an emergency meeting at the White House.
Meanwhile, many polls have shown Trump leading Biden after the debate, including in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania.
