Twitter/Ryan McCarthy
At the beginning of the night, the forecast gave Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton an 84% chance of winning the presidency. But as results came in showing an unexpected lead for Donald Trump in key battleground states, the live forecast shifted towards Trump.
The real-time needle didn't stay still for long. At times, the needle seemed to bounce unpredictably from Trump's side to Clinton's, and back.
At the time of this publication, the forecast gives Trump nearly a 90% shot of winning.
Panicking readers took to Twitter after each dramatic oscillation, and eventually starting venting about the needle itself:
I'm taking a break. The stress of the uncertainty and that damn NYT needle is killing me. #ElectionNight
- Nick C (@nwchap) November 9, 2016
I imagine that NYT is going to get a whole lot of flack for this real-time panic meter tomorrow pic.twitter.com/BeWFZYHKcT
- Ryan McCarthy (@mccarthyryanj) November 9, 2016
The NYT needle jittering is going to be in my nightmares no matter what happens tonight.
- Daniel R. @ Home (@Daniel_Rosen) November 9, 2016The New York Times eventually edited the election forecast post to acknowledge viewers' concerns:
Has @nytimes caught on to Dems' election-night hair-greying freakout? pic.twitter.com/EoDy3MrFHV
- Paul D. Shinkman (@PDShinkman) November 9, 2016