Oliver Darcy here. NYT has dropped its second story about Trump's taxes, the worldwide coronavirus death toll has passed one million, and Facebook is still taking heat for how its election labels work. But first...

Most-watched political event in history?

Tuesday's face-off between President Donald Trump and former VP Joe Biden could go down in history as the most-watched political event of all time. In 2016, 84 million people watched the first debate between Trump and Hillary Clinton — the current record. This year, with interest in the presidential election so high, I think it has a chance to top 2016. Stelter said he's doubtful... because the curiosity in Trump as a debate performer has subsided... and politics fatigue has taken a toll on the country.

Nevertheless, the debate will be an event that a large chunk of the country watches in unison. The lines dividing the various echo chambers will temporarily be erased, and Americans tuning in will see the same debate with no ideological filters applied by the platform in which they are viewing it. Unlike other political events, like say the impeachment inquiry, it will be a moment when there is some shared reality among those who watch. "In today’s fractured media world, no other moment in a campaign draws such a mass audience," noted LAT's David Lauter and Janet Hook.

>> Quick reminder: The 90-minute debate will air commercial free all across cable news and the broadcast networks, in addition to being streamed online. It begins at 9pm ET...

Post-debate spin

While Americans tuning in to the debate will see the same version of events, expect a stream of partisan commentary and disinformation in its immediate aftermath. Once the debate concludes, the lines that divide our fragmented information world will go right back up. One thing to pay attention to: video clips edited in deceptive ways being circulated on social media. The Trump campaign has a tendency to cut videos in a misleading manner. Social media platforms have allowed such clips to amass millions of views before taking action. Will these platforms be ready Tuesday night?

Will the debate change minds?

That's perhaps the million-dollar question heading into Tuesday's square-off. The presidential race has been mostly steady throughout the last few months, despite various explosive news reports and a rocky news cycle. Monmouth University released some polling numbers that might indicate whether the debate will have an impact. According to Monmouth, about three in four voters plan to tune in, but only 3% said they are very likely to hear something that could change their vote.

>> "These results underscore the fact that the audience for these debates are voters who already have a rooting interest in one side or the other," commented Monmouth polling director Patrick Murray...

>> Another interesting data point: "Most (63%) say they would like to see the moderator of the debate fact check any false information a candidate shares during the debate, while only 30% feel that should fall to the two candidates..."

'Moderating a presidential debate is like directing traffic'

In a piece outlining why Chris Wallace "won't be the Trump-slaying moderators liberals crave," Politico's Jack Shafer wrote that "moderating a presidential debate is like directing traffic." Shafer noted that "presidential debates—which aren’t actually debates but unruly tandem press conferences, as many have noted—place moderators at a disadvantage." In other words, don't expect Wallace to relentlessly grill Trump onstage as he might in an interview.

>> Wallace himself says his plan is to be "as invisible as possible..."

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

-- "The few-frills format of Tuesday’s debate — two candidates, two lecterns, one moderator — is a break from highly produced events, like virtual conventions and overloaded primary debates, that have otherwise defined the major television moments of the 2020 presidential race," Michael Grynbaum notes... (NYT)

-- Brian Steinberg reports on how advertisers are rushing to TV's debates and election coverage... (Variety)

-- "Clubby reinforcements have been summoned. A stack of flashcards -- question on front, response on back -- is at the ready. A binder has been dutifully collated. Whether any of that helps President Donald Trump deliver a winning debate performance on Tuesday remains to be seen," Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins report... (CNN)

-- Philippe Reines writes, "I played Trump in Clinton’s debate prep. Here’s what Biden can expect..." (WaPo)

-- Trump had deflected questions about his taxes, but Peter Baker and Michael Shear write that the first debate now "has a new issue..." (NYT)

-- "The report gave Biden ... a fresh line of attack and left Trump struggling to defend himself on an issue that has dogged him throughout his presidency," Toluse Olorunnipa and Sean Sullivan write... (WaPo)

One million dead

The coronavirus has now claimed the lives of more than one million people across the globe. The world surpassed the terrible milestone just before 9pm ET Monday. "But the tragedy of coronavirus isn’t just in the death toll," CNN's digital package pointed out. "It’s also in the grim truths it has revealed about who we are and how we treat our most vulnerable. The pandemic has exposed shocking failures of governance, worsened deep-rooted inequalities in access to healthcare, and inflamed a long-waged war on facts preventing scientists from conveying information that could save lives. Almost every person in the world has been affected by the pandemic. But it hasn’t drawn us closer -- in many ways, it’s tearing us further apart."

'There is so much misinformation'

Stelter interviewed Dr. Anthony Fauci on Monday as part of World News Day, and the he lamented the bad info that has saturated the public conversation about the virus over the last several months. “There is so much misinformation during this very divisive time that we’re in, and the public really needs to know the facts,” Fauci said. “Some of the media that I deal with…I wouldn’t say distort things, but certainly give opposing perspectives on what seems to be a pretty obvious fact.” Fauci went on to name-check Fox News, describing some of the network's coverage as "outlandish."

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

-- The Daily Caller's Shelby Talcott wrote about her experience being arrested in Louisville... (Daily Caller)

-- Wesley Lowery commented: "This piece reinforces my belief that if the average media member had firsthand experience with the criminal justice system the media as a whole would be much more inclined to criticism of how people who are arrested or suspected of /charged with crimes are treated..." (Twitter)

-- WaPo's Erik Wemple wrote about how the subject of NYT's "Caliphate" podcast was "charged in Canada for allegedly fabricating tales about his experiences as an Islamic State fighter..." (WaPo)

-- In light of the charges, NYT is defending itself, saying Monday that uncertainty about the subject's story was "central to every episode of Caliphate that featured him..." (Daily Beast)

-- Andrew Napolitano has been "accused of sexual assault and attempted rape" in another lawsuit. Napolitano is calling the accusation "total fiction..." (Law & Crime)

How Fox's so-called 'straight news' division spins negative news for Trump

It is well known that Fox News has a stable of right-wing opinion hosts who propagandize for Trump. That's no secret. But for years, Fox News executives have insisted that the network also has a strong news division that reports stories in an objective manner. In the words of Fox News President Jay Wallace: "We've always said that we have strong opinion and strong news."

But the reality is that the network's so-called "straight news" division presents news from a pro-Trump perspective. This is especially evident when Trump faces blowback from explosive news reports, such as NYT's blockbuster story about Trump's taxes. Fox does this in two ways: First, it treats the big story as just another headline of the day, giving the story less visibility than reputable news orgs. Second, when it does cover the news, it often chooses to focus on Trump's denial instead of the substance of the report. More in my story here...

Network's 'hate' obsession

"Fox News is up to five times more likely to use the word 'hate' in its programming than its main competitors," according to a study published Monday by two professors. The professors, Curd Knüpfer and Robert Mathew Entman, wrote that the most notable word paired on Fox with "hate" was "they," as in "they hate." According to the professors, "We found Fox’s usage of 'they hate' has increased over time, with a clear spike around the polarizing 2016 Trump-Clinton election. But Fox’s use of 'hate' really took off when Trump’s presidency began."

Shep Smith should know better!

A flurry of articles were published over the last 24 hours previewing Shep Smith's new CNBC show which debuts Wednesday. Smith didn't say much about Fox News, mostly just articulating that he thought it was time to move on. But one comment he made about the network struck me. Smith told the AP's David Bauder about Fox, "Their opinion people state their opinions and they draw big audiences. I have no problem with that."

Aside whether it's actually true Smith has "no problem" with Fox News' opinion side (our reporting indicated that he left, in part, because of a feud with Tucker Carlson), Smith should know better than to dismiss Fox's prime time hosts as merely stating "opinions." The reality is they are doing much more than simply offering their takes on the news. They are peddling lies and promoting conspiracy theories. Smith told The Daily Beast's Lloyd Grove that he is "worried about disinformation most" and wants to call it out "because it's injurious to society." It's hard to see how Smith can do that without calling out the elephant in the room.

FOR THE RECORD, PART THREE

-- The NYT editorial board suggests Big Tech platforms "form a consortium" to formalize standards on election misinformation... (NYT)

-- "Two influential Democrats on Capitol Hill have urged Facebook to take stronger action against misinformation, voter suppression and incitements to violence ahead of the 2020 election..." (AP)

-- Kevin Roose looks at how "Save the Children" helped "save QAnon..." (NYT)

-- Disturbing report about how QAnon is "attracting cops..." (Mother Jones)

-- Numbers from a recent survey "underscore a moment when a particular brand of conspiracy theory is emerging in the mainstream: A belief that the 'official story' is in fact a Big Lie, being told by powerful, shadowy interests..." (NYT)

Facebook's election labeling draws more scrutiny

Facebook on Monday drew scrutiny (again) for how it addressed disinfo peddled by the President of the United States. After Trump wrote in a post that mail-in ballots "cannot be accurately counted," Facebook slapped a label on the post that read, "Visit the Voting Information Center for election resources and official updates." Popular Information's Judd Legum commented, "Facebook SAID they would enforce their prohibition on misinformation about voting methods against Trump. Instead they are doing this." NYT's Kevin Roose added, "Any designer knows that a label like this — tepid language, minimizable, visually subordinate to the main claim — is meant to be ignored."

>> Following the criticism, Facebook affixed a far more direct label on Trump's post, noting voting-by-mail has has a "long history of trustworthiness in the US." Which again raises the question: Why is Facebook taking action only after facing criticism from reporters?

FOR THE RECORD, PART FOUR

By Kerry Flynn:

-- "Ohio's whitest home newspaper" is the headline to Marion Renault's deep dive on Gannett-owned The Columbus Dispatch... (CJR)

-- The entire editorial staff of NYU's student newspaper, Washington Square News, has resigned over grievances with its new editorial advisor, Dr. Kenna Griffin... (WSN)

-- Tim Peterson reports how A+E Networks created a "portfolio of free 24/7 streaming channels" including its just released Skills & Thrills channel on Roku... (Digiday)

-- Group Nine Media launches NowThis Earth to provide daily news coverage of the climate crisis and environmental justice... (MediaPost)

FOR THE RECORD, PART SIX

-- The Cannes Film Festival is planning a special three-day event after being canceled this year... (Variety)

-- "Real Time With Bill Maher" has been renewed for two more seasons... (THR)

-- "Netflix is likely to raise subscription prices in North America or Europe soon..." (Deadline)

-- Lisa Respers France emails: Alex Désert, a Black actor, has taken over for Hank Azaria voicing the Black character Carl on "The Simpsons..."

-- France sends in another: Rose Leslie, Kit Harington and Sophie Turner have baby news...