Absurd quiz claims to reveal Trump or Biden voters based on their refrigerators

The New York Times is copping flak over an absurd quiz which claims to determine Biden or Trump voters – based on their refrigerators.

The usually highbrow New York Times has become something of a laughing stock after publishing a truly ridiculous election quiz.

The respected publication’s quiz claims to be able to determine whether someone is a supporter of Donald Trump or Joe Biden, based on photos of the inside of their refrigerator.

The interactive quiz was created in partnership with online survey platform Lucid and based on “hundreds” of Americans who shared their preferred candidate along with pictures of the contents of their fridges.

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Apparently, Biden voters have a penchant for Minute Maid orange juice. Picture: Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP

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While the Times acknowledged that “as a whole, we can’t distinguish people’s politics from glances into their fridges much more reliably than if we just flipped a coin”, it claimed some fridges were more easily “guessable” than others.

It also cited a recent survey which revealed certain brands were linked to voter behaviour, with supporters of Democratic hopeful Joe Biden more likely to stock up on Grey Poupon mustard or Minute Maid orange juice, while Republicans were more likely to buy Ken’s salad dressing and Pace picante sauce.

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However, the Times also revealed “empty or nearly empty fridges were split roughly evenly between Trump and Biden supporters”, meaning the amount of food inside doesn’t offer a significant clue about the owner’s political leanings.

The fact that there’s a quiz of how to spot a Republicans fridge compared to a Democrats fridge, just goes to show how much of a joke this election is...

— tay (@taylornfabian) October 29, 2020

I'm killing the @nytimes fridge quiz. Can I be a political consultant now? pic.twitter.com/jvZLxXQKmv

— Christopher Faricy (@cgfaricy) October 28, 2020

Unsurprisingly, the quiz has been heavily criticised on social media, with Twitter users having a field day at the newspaper’s expense.

Most took the bizarre quiz as proof that the election itself had become a joke, sharing memes and jibes directed at the publication and the wider political situation in the US.

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Trump fans really dig Ken’s salad dressing and Pace picante sauce. Picture: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images/AFP

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Others quipped that nailing the quiz made them at least as knowledgeable as professional political experts, while many were inspired to share snaps of their own fridges and invite others to guess their voting behaviour.

But some also criticised the quiz for making assumptions about people’s daily lives, which was especially unhelpful during a deadly global pandemic and economic crisis.

Here’s the fridge of a working-class voter, during a pandemic, recession, and hurricane recovery. Get bent, NY Times. pic.twitter.com/7wfPMYabYV

— ⚜️”Rob” Anderson for Louisiana (@RobAnderson2018) October 28, 2020

The quiz has also spawned backlash from other media sites, with Refinery29 labelling it “needlessly classist” and accusing the Times of “engaging in stereotypes and turning them into a game only a week before one of the most contentious elections in modern history”.

US Yahoo also claimed the New York Times had reached an “excruciating new level of food snobbery”.

And American journalist and former news presenter Dan Rather slammed it as “nuts”, urging the Times to “have some respect for yourself”.

If you’re curious, you can check out the fridge quiz for yourself here.