FiveThirtyEight

FiveThirtyEight is a data journalism website that covers politics, sports, science, and economics. Founded by statistician Nate Silver in 2008, the site takes its name from the 538 electors in the United States Electoral College. It is best known for its data-driven analyses and probabilistic forecasts, especially surrounding elections.

The site began as a blog offering readers numeric analysis of political polls and models. It drew wide attention during the 2008 presidential race for its transparent approach to forecasting. In 2010, FiveThirtyEight was acquired by ESPN and later relaunched as a section on ESPN.com. In 2013–2014 the site was integrated into ESPN’s digital network, expanding its audience and resources. In 2018, after a corporate restructuring by The Walt Disney Company, FiveThirtyEight moved to ABC News and continues as part of ABC News Digital.

Content and methodology: FiveThirtyEight publishes articles, explainers, and interactive graphics that apply statistical methods to politics, sports, science, and economics. It emphasizes transparent methods, often documenting data sources, modeling assumptions, and uncertainty, with dedicated notes or methodology sections. The political forecasting component, FiveThirtyEight Elections, uses poll data, demographics, and historical trends to generate probabilistic projections of election outcomes.

Impact: The site is widely cited in mainstream journalism for data-driven analysis and has influenced public discussion of polling accuracy and forecasting. It remains a prominent platform for quantitative journalism and data visualization.