A fake polling firm that drew headlines for a poll showing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in the lead in her mayoral primary was also behind a poll showing Francesca Hong far ahead in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin.
In the days before the Wisconsin gubernatorial Democratic primary, a viral poll from a group called Median Strategies had Hong ahead of Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley by 23 points, feeding the false perception that she would be the nominee. On Monday, the firm revealed that its polls were all bogus after inquiries from the Los Angeles Times over a poll showing Bass 11 points ahead of her Democratic rival. While attention was focused on the Bass poll, others began connecting the dots to other fake polls.
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“All previously published polling releases have been withdrawn and should not be cited or treated as genuine polling data,” Median Strategies said in its press release.
“Median Strategies was created as a short-term social experiment examining how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification,” it added.
The group’s website is now down, and scant traces of its online presence remain.
Crowley ultimately won the Wisconsin gubernatorial primary by 4,000 votes, taking home 39.8% of the vote compared to Hong’s 39.3%.
The fake polls have triggered widespread bewilderment, given how widely they were believed. Each poll was accompanied by all the trappings of a legitimate poll, including methodologies and a detailed analysis of what the poll indicated.
Those duped by the polls have begun calling for the culprits to be prosecuted.
A spokesperson for Bass defended the mayor to the California Post after she posted the poll as legitimate, noting that the survey had been “reported on by multiple news outlets,” then called for those behind it to be prosecuted.
KAREN BASS TOUTED FAKE POLL THAT SHOWED BIG LEAD IN LA MAYORAL RACE, FIRM SAYS
“Any bad faith attempts to influence elections should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” they told the outlet.
Pollster Nate Silver speculated that those behind the fake polls were simply scammers, rather than people running a social experiment.
