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FACT BRIEF

Did the Associated Press air the 'final results' of the 2022 Arizona governor's race before the election?

By Austin Tannenbaum
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NO

The Associated Press did not air any results pertaining to the Arizona gubernatorial race between Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Republican former television anchor Kari Lake.

However, a television news outlet did accidentally broadcast a small graphic with mock election results as part of a test in preparation for Election Day.

The Associated Press generates such graphics and distributes them to clients to allow them to test their systems, but they're not supposed to be published. An AP spokesperson said:

“Before any election AP provides clearly labeled test data to customers as part of routine testing. The data is randomly generated by a computer and is not based on any predictive analysis or polling.”

Fox 10 Phoenix confirmed:

"This graphic was never meant to go on air — the numbers were only part of a test. The station has taken steps to make sure this cannot happen again.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Fox 10 Phoenix Statement on the publishing of test election results
AP News Arizona station displayed test election data, not real results
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.