Methodology
How a Debates.studio event is structured, moderated, scored, fact-checked, and archived.
Debate format
Each debate has a published agenda with timed segments, opening statements, moderator questions, and closing statements.
Question selection
Audience questions are submitted by authenticated viewers, ranked by upvotes, and curated by moderators. Selection criteria are public.
Polling and audience sentiment
Live polls and post-debate sentiment surveys are open to authenticated viewers. Results are released only after compliance review.
Scoring (when enabled)
Platform scoring blends issue mastery, factual accuracy, responsiveness, conduct, and audience sentiment with weights published per debate. Scoring is not an electoral result.
Fact-check review
Claims are reviewed by independent staff editors with at least two primary sources before publication.
Archive publication
Every completed debate is permanently archived with replay, transcript, summary, claims, fact-checks, polls, and consensus where enabled.
AI assistance
AI-drafted summaries, transcripts, and claim extractions are reviewed by a human before publication.
Audience vote reflects participating viewer sentiment. It is not an official election result. See our voting methodology for how scores are computed and audited.