cBS, apparently aware of the discrepancies I highlighted yesterday have now altered their website. Here is a side by side comparison:

Apparently cBS makes it a habit to publish stories that are anti-Bush without the slightest modicum of review for accuracy. But that wasn’t the only place they made changes to fit their story:

They changed the “pre-debate” pro-Kerry total from 28% to 31%. It seems they were trying to cover up the fact that their numbers actually fell within their outrageous margin of error rendering their story a non-story…. but it’s also highlighted yet another issue I have with the poll and resulting story.

The story is supposed to highlight “uncommitted” voters. This is a slight modification to the term “undecided” and it’s probably so they could skew the sample appropriately to achieve the results that would fit in an anti-Bush story they wanted to publish. Look again at the (revised) pre-debate preferences: Kerry 31%, Bush 19%. This sample was already leaning more to Kerry. That’s a problem when a NEWS organization is using stuff like this to CREATE news.

Not only that, but the (revised) numbers highlight an even better picture for Bush supporters. While Kerry enjoyed a 12 point lead in “Presidential Preference” before the debate, Bush cut into that lead by 5 points given that the post-debate preference for President was a 7 point differential.

Yet, cBS wants us to believe “Uncommitted Voters Give Kerry Nod”.

Now I know what CBS stands for: Creating Bullshit Stories.

Update: The original cBS Press Release with the “uncorrected” pre-debate Kerry support numbers remains publicly available.

Update: More discrepancies. If you watch Dan Rather’s broadcast of the story, you’ll see they made up even better numbers for Kerry. The broadcast numbers showed Kerry won the debate 44-26 (18 point difference), while their press release and current website story say 43-28 (15 point difference). Thanks, Dan.