Polling firm admits to faking survey results in political races
Axios · August 23, 2026Original source ↗
What happened
Median Strategies, a polling firm, acknowledged that it created false survey results for political races in Wisconsin and Los Angeles, describing the effort as a social experiment. The inaccurate polls depicted misleading leads in key Democratic races, influencing public perception.
Why it matters
This incident highlights the growing risks of misinformation and its impact on political discourse.
How this story affects people
How does this story affect you if you are a voter in Wisconsin or Los Angeles?
The fake polling results may have misled you about the candidates' standings, potentially influencing your voting decisions. This manipulation could undermine your trust in future polls and the electoral process.
Want this written about you?
The breakdown above is the shared version, for kinds of people. In the app, Ripple uses your job, your city, and your family, then writes that part about you.
Get your Ripple