Technology · Cybersecurity · 5 outlets (L 1 · C 1 · R 2 · 1 not rated)
Hacking attempt shut down FEC campaign finance filing system
A hacking attempt forced the Federal Election Commission to shut down its electronic filing system one week before the midterm elections.[2, 4] An FEC email said a 'bad actor' tried to breach the agency's systems, according to Al Jazeera and The New York Times.[1, 5] The FEC confirmed its electronic filing system was offline but declined to comment further on the cause of the outage, the International Business Times reported.[2]
The Daily Wire reported that FEC cybersecurity staff took affected systems offline after the attempted intrusion.[4] The outage disrupted the public's ability to track new campaign spending disclosures during the final stretch of election season, according to The Daily Wire and The New York Times.[1, 4]
Covered by The New York Times, International Business Times, The Daily Wire and 2 more
Read first Hacking Attempts Disrupt Federal Election Commission Filing System One Week Before Midterms
Where accounts differ (1)
- FramingThe Daily Caller and The Daily Wire state that hackers knocked the FEC offline, while the International Business Times reports the FEC confirmed the outage but declined to comment on the cause, and the FEC's own email described only an attempted breach by a 'bad actor'.[2, 3, 4]
- The Daily Caller · Right · Oct 27, 7:52 p.m. ET Hackers Knocked Federal Election Commission Offline, Emails Show
Hackers Knocked Federal Election Commission Offline, Emails Show
- International Business Times · Center · Oct 28, 11:12 a.m. ET Hacking Attempts Disrupt Federal Election Commission Filing System One Week Before Midterms
The FEC confirmed that its electronic filing system was offline but declined to comment further on the cause of the outage.
- The Daily Caller · Right · Oct 27, 7:52 p.m. ET Hackers Knocked Federal Election Commission Offline, Emails Show
How balanced is this coverage?
Of the 4 rated outlets that covered it, 1 is left of center, 1 is center and 2 are right of center (2 of them in the Right group). 1 more is not rated.
Too few left- or right-leaning outlets to compare: 1 of 42 left-leaning, 1 of 33 center and 2 of 38 right-leaning outlets covered it.
- Left: none.
- Leans left: The New York Times (−0.70).
- Center: International Business Times (−0.14).
- Leans right: none.
- Right: The Daily Caller (+1.91), The Daily Wire (+2.07).
Not rated Al Jazeera. Not placed: they have no lean score.
Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.