All part of the news reporters "race" to be the "first" to break "anything".... be it news or gossip, to the public. "We broke this little tidbit of information before you did"... even if we didn't get it right. No time to check the facts. This is repeated so often today that it's just considered "normal", and nobody anywhere is holding the news outlets accountable for reporting wrong or misleading information anymore. There ought to be consequences for false or misleading reporting, or for "slanting" the news, and only presenting one side of a story. I don't think we can even call most of what's being reported via the "news" anymore "news".... it's propaganda, and it's opinionated reporting, and gossip.... not "factual reporting". And the public is gobbling it up and eager to get it. They're giving "us" what we're asking them for... and it's NOT "the news", it's entertainment and social media fodder.
On November 4, I heard NPR report boldly that "Joe Biden is now the 46th President of the United States"! Wow... I wasn't aware that the inauguration had already taken place... must have done that in the middle of the night when I was sleeping. What happened to Trump and Pence? Must have died somehow.
Right from that point on, nearly every time that any of the lamestream media reported that Trump was making assertions of potential election shenanigans, THE NEWS MEDIA declared it was FALSE claims........... I would think that the validity of his claims would still have to be determined through our court system, but apparently the job of investigating "claims" of inpropriety, and "trying" the claims in a "fair, open, and honest trial" has been given over to the news media to determine on their own, and then the impact of THEIR decision will be determined in the court of popular opinion, as guided by what the new media reports to the populace.
God help us.... and I DO mean that.