Many Democratic voters say that the most important thing they’re looking for in a presidential candidate is an ability to defeat Donald Trump. NBC News did such voters a disservice by misrepresenting the results of a survey of head-to-head matchups in a story that came out just before the crucial Iowa caucuses.

The story “NBC/WSJ poll: Country Remains Divided Over Trump’s Impeachment Trial” (2/2/20) included a graphic depicting the results when a January 26–28 poll asked how people would vote in series of hypothetical contests with Trump. It showed Trump losing to Biden and Sanders, but defeating Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg:

But the graphic contradicted the text of the article, by NBC‘s Mark Murray, which said that the poll found that all four candidates would defeat Trump:

Looking ahead to the 2020 general election that’s still more than 270 days away, the NBC/WSJ poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading Trump nationally by 6 points among registered voters, 50 percent to 44 percent — though that’s down from Biden’s 9-point advantage in October.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is ahead of Trump by 4 points, 49 percent to 45 percent — a drop from Sanders’ 7-point lead in July.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., holds a 3-point advantage over Trump, 48 percent to 45 percent, and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg leads Trump by 1 point, 46 percent to 45 percent.

The graphic understates both Biden and Sanders’ margins over Trump by 1 percentage point, turns a 3-point advantage for Warren into a 1-point deficit, and reverses Buttigieg’s 1-point lead.

The full data from the poll, which the article links to, jibes with the text and not with the graphic:

ACTION ALERT: Please contact NBC and tell them to correct a February 2 graphic showing two of four Democratic candidates losing to Trump.

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