NEWS
How the first 2024 US presidential debate influenced Internet traffic and security trends
between the two major presumptive candidates, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, for the November presidential election.
2024 has been dubbed “the year of elections,” with elections taking place in over 60 countries, as we have mentioned beforeelection days don’t come with highly intensive changes to Internet traffic
, and the same is true for debates. Yet, debates can also draw attention that impacts traffic, especially when there is heightened anticipation. The 2024 debates are not only aired on broadcast and cable television but also streamed on platforms like YouTube, enhancing their reach and impact.
During the June 27, 2024, debate between Biden and Trump, hosted by CNN at 21:00 EST (01:00 UTC), Cloudflare noted a slight drop in nationwide Internet requests, falling to 2% below the same time a week prior at 21:15 EST (01:15 UTC). Interestingly, Internet traffic was 4% higher just before the debate started and surged to 6% above the previous week’s levels after the debate concluded at 23:45 EST (03:45 UTC).