Presidential historian Allan Lichtman, known for his history of highly accurate election predictions from 1984 on, cited Elon Musk's influence on social media as a key reason he incorrectly forecasted a Kamala Harris victory over Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
"Disinformation has exploded to an unprecedented degree," Lichtman said on NewsNation's CUOMO. "We've seen something brand new this time: Elon Musk putting his thumb on the scales through his control of X."
Lichtman, who uses his "13 Keys to the White House" model to predict elections, expressed concern over misinformation's impact on voters' understanding of critical issues, saying that "billions of views" on X affected voter perceptions on topics from economic conditions to immigration.
He noted that, according to surveys, 17% of voters mistakenly believed President Joe Biden was responsible for overturning Roe v. Wade, illustrating the influence of misinformation.
"I don't get it... The democracy's gone," Lichtman remarked as Trump appeared poised to win major swing states on election night.
"Maybe the premise of the keys needs to be changed," he acknowledged, noting, "I have four years to figure this out."
Originally published by Latin Times.
