Skip to content
Welcome, thoughtbot's Giant Robots listeners!Start here
FiveThirtyEight
AI-generated illustration
OrganisationUS

FiveThirtyEight

US political data-journalism outlet founded in 2008, shut down by ABC News in March 2025.

Last refreshed: 7 September 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic

Key Question

Why did ABC News shut down FiveThirtyEight in 2025?

Timeline for FiveThirtyEight

View full timeline →
Follow Iran Conflict 2026 →

Background

FiveThirtyEight was a US political data-journalism outlet founded by Nate Silver in 2008, known for statistical election forecasting. Disney's ABC News, which had owned the site since 2018, shut it down in March 2025 as part of broader newsroom layoffs. Silver left in 2023, before the shutdown, to launch his independent Silver Bulletin newsletter, which now runs its own forecasting model, FLIPR. FiveThirtyEight no longer publishes; its 2026 midterm coverage exists only through Silver's separate outlet.

Common Questions
What happened to FiveThirtyEight?
ABC News shut FiveThirtyEight down in March 2025 as part of wider layoffs at Disney and ABC News.Source: Nieman Journalism Lab
Who founded FiveThirtyEight?
Nate Silver founded FiveThirtyEight in 2008; it later moved to ESPN and then ABC News before closing in 2025.Source: Wikipedia
Is FiveThirtyEight still publishing election forecasts?
No. It closed in March 2025. Nate Silver now forecasts elections through his separate Silver Bulletin newsletter and its FLIPR model.Source: Nieman Journalism Lab
Source Material
FiveThirtyEight is shutting down as part of broader cuts at ABC and DisneyFiveThirtyEight

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 7 September 2026. Editorial standards.