Thousands of articles from FiveThirtyEight, once the internet's go-to destination for polling analysis and election forecasting, have effectively vanished from public view. The political data site's archived content, which had persisted online long after the outlet's shutdown, now redirects visitors to ABC News instead of displaying the original reporting.
FiveThirtyEight was shuttered last year, ending a run that made it a fixture in political coverage and data journalism. Though the site itself ceased operations, an earlier archived version remained accessible to readers seeking historical articles and analysis. That buffer has now ended. The domain now functions as a gateway to ABC News, the parent company that owns the site, effectively cutting off direct access to the archived material.
The disappearance raises questions about the fate of thousands of pieces published over the site's lifetime. Readers who bookmarked specific articles or try to reference old FiveThirtyEight reporting will now find themselves redirected rather than able to access the original work. The move mirrors broader concerns in digital journalism about content preservation and the fragility of online archives when ownership changes hands or outlets close.
It remains unclear whether ABC News intends to migrate FiveThirtyEight's archive to its own platform or if the content will remain inaccessible to general readers. The company did not immediately address what happened to the archived articles or what users should do if they need to find specific pieces from the site's catalog.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "The internet has a short memory, and corporate redirects make it shorter. If there's value in preserving FiveThirtyEight's work, burying it behind ABC's front door isn't the answer."
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