CNN’s Presidential debate this week will bring up lots of questions -- as well as truths, untruths, lies and perhaps some "alternative facts" -- for TV viewers and potential voters. 

But with no studio audience -- and a "mute" button for candidates -- will the debate be a dull, lackluster TV presentation?

With pressing questions about how to separate truths from outright lies and everything in between, CNN has a monumental task in attempting to hold all parties accountable -- as well as airing a quality public-service presentation.

On CNN's website, specifically its “Facts First” page, the network says this: “CNN holds elected officials and candidates accountable by pointing out what’s true and what’s not.” 

So it will have its work cut out for it because many analysts say former President Trump continues to publicly speak regularly touting a blizzard of false claims. In two interviews with Time in April, the publication said Trump made at least 32 false claims.

To be fair, even former President Obama noted that politicians do lie from time to time. And consider there are also "gray" areas here.

Wonder then if there should be a scorecard? What does it mean if one politician is found to have lied five times over a three-month period, while another lies 200 times during that same period?

Given a live TV debate with few breaks, it will be difficult to reveal in real time who’s ahead and who is behind.

For its part, The New York Times will livestream the CNN debate, and 60 Times journalists will be on hand Thursday night to offer context, insight, photos, reactions and fact-checking.

No doubt other media outlets will do that as well -- perhaps offering fact-checking on their websites. 

Front and center, of course, will be the CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who will be delivering the key questions to the candidates and also -- when it's possible -- doing their own real-time "fact-checking."

Also, in order to keep things going as smoothly as possible, a "mute" button controlled by CNN will turn off a candidate’s microphone when his opponent is speaking, to limit interruptions when one candidate is speaking. The Biden campaign said Trump did lots of this in the 2020 debates.

Some analysts say this will make for a less dramatic event.

If you don’t believe any of what you are seeing, you could just change the channel. But you will need to do some work here. 

As an act of public service, CNN is allowing ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, PBS and C-SPAN to carry the CNN debate feed.

Still, TV viewers will be seeing the “CNN” logo on their screen at all times. And those non-CNN networks won’t be allowed to insert any commentators' analysis during the event.

And if you have trouble believing anything you are seeing from either candidate, no worries -- networks will be tossing in some advertising content via selling messaging time during the two commercial breaks. 

Just some more selling for TV viewers to consider -- and fact-checking is optional.