Full Breakdown
FiveThirtyEight Archive Vanishes as ABC News Redirects Site
5/17/2026, 10:32:36 PM
The Sudden Disappearance of Thousands of Articles
An archived version of FiveThirtyEight’s website now redirects users to the political news page of ABC News, its former owner. The change has rendered inaccessible a large body of work dating from the outlet’s launch in 2008 through its shutdown in March 2025. Observers first reported the loss on May 15, 2026, noting that attempts to reach the former domain (fivethirtyeight.com) lead to ABC News instead of the expected archive.
Background: FiveThirtyEight’s Evolution and ABC Ownership
FiveThirtyEight was founded in 2008 by election analyst Nate Silver. In 2023 the site merged with ABCNews.com, and the stand-alone domain was discontinued. ABC News formally shut down the FiveThirtyEight brand in March 2025, but an archived copy of the site remained publicly reachable until the recent redirection.
Key Figures: Nate Silver, Nathaniel Rakich, and ABC News
- Nate Silver – Founder of FiveThirtyEight, left the organization in 2023, and later attempted to purchase its intellectual-property rights.
- Nathaniel Rakich – Former senior staff editor at FiveThirtyEight, now managing editor of the nonprofit Votebeat, which monitors voting access and election integrity.
- ABC News – Current owner of FiveThirtyEight’s assets; declined multiple requests for comment on the removal.
Scope of the Loss: Data and Numbers
- Articles removed: “thousands” of pieces covering elections, sports, and other topics from 2008-2025.
- Personal impact: Approximately 700 articles authored by Rakich are among the lost content.
- Remaining access: The data repository at data.fivethirtyeight.com continues to host underlying datasets and code.
Official Statements & Responses
ABC News provided no comment despite repeated inquiries. Silver disclosed that he had recently sought to acquire FiveThirtyEight’s intellectual-property rights, but ABC rebuffed the request. Rakich, who first flagged the disappearance on social media, described the event as a “needless erasure of thousands of pages of knowledge.”
Criticism & Opposition
Media analysts and former staff expressed alarm that the removal eliminates a substantial public record of data-driven journalism. Critics argue that the loss hampers scholarly research, public accountability, and the historical documentation of American political discourse.
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
- Number of articles: Sources cite “thousands” in general terms, while Rakich specifies that 700 of his own pieces are missing; the total count remains unverified.
- Timing of removal: Comments about the outage surfaced on May 15, 2026, but the precise moment the redirects were implemented is not documented.
- Rationale: No official explanation has been offered by ABC News regarding why the archive was taken offline.
Verbatim Quotes
- “All the work that’s been done, you know, groundbreaking work covering this remarkable period in American politics, is lost,” — Nate Silver, Founder, FiveThirtyEight
- “It’s really depressing.” — Nate Silver, Founder, FiveThirtyEight
- “needless erasure of thousands of pages of knowledge.” — Nathaniel Rakich, Managing Editor, Votebeat
What’s Next
Rakich’s nonprofit Votebeat may seek to preserve remaining datasets and advocate for broader archival safeguards. No legal actions or formal recovery plans have been announced, leaving the future accessibility of FiveThirtyEight’s historical content uncertain.
