Polling Firm Reveals Bonkers Reason for Shutdown

What it is about

Who published it, and when

How it spread - 16 original reports

1. Tue, 18 August 2026

   3 reports
   • thedailybeast.com16:54first to report
     Polling Firm Reveals Bonkers Reason for Shutdown

     A company that purported to address polling’s “credibility problem” turned out to have a big issue of its own.

   • The Hill17:29
     Polling firm closes down after it faked Hong, Bass polls

     Median Strategies, the company that released polls showing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) and former Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong ahead with wide margins in their respective races, announced Monday it has closed. A message on the company's website reads that it has "concluded its polling project and will not publish additional polls." "All...

   • sfexaminer.com22:30
     Fake polls in Wisconsin and California were part of a 'social experiment'

     An organization fabricates election polling results as a "social experiment," raising questions about the reliability of polling data and its impact on public perception and betting markets.

2. Wed, 19 August 2026

   9 reports
   • iheart.com16:08
     Polling Firm Shuts Down After Admitting Fake Polls Were 'Social Experiment'

     Median Strategies shut down after admitting its polls on the Los Angeles mayor's race and Wisconsin's Democratic primary were fake.

   • iheart.com16:08
     Polling Firm Shuts Down After Admitting Fake Polls Were 'Social Experiment'

     Median Strategies shut down after admitting its polls on the Los Angeles mayor's race and Wisconsin's Democratic primary were fake.

   • iheart.com16:08
     Polling Firm Shuts Down After Admitting Fake Polls Were 'Social Experiment'

     Median Strategies shut down after admitting its polls on the Los Angeles mayor's race and Wisconsin's Democratic primary were fake.

   • iheart.com16:08
     Polling Firm Shuts Down After Admitting Fake Polls Were 'Social Experiment'

     Median Strategies shut down after admitting its polls on the Los Angeles mayor's race and Wisconsin's Democratic primary were fake.

   • iheart.com16:08
     Polling Firm Shuts Down After Admitting Fake Polls Were 'Social Experiment'

     Median Strategies shut down after admitting its polls on the Los Angeles mayor's race and Wisconsin's Democratic primary were fake.

   • iheart.com16:08
     Polling Firm Shuts Down After Admitting Fake Polls Were 'Social Experiment'

     Median Strategies shut down after admitting its polls on the Los Angeles mayor's race and Wisconsin's Democratic primary were fake.

   • iheart.com16:08
     Polling Firm Shuts Down After Admitting Fake Polls Were 'Social Experiment'

     Median Strategies shut down after admitting its polls on the Los Angeles mayor's race and Wisconsin's Democratic primary were fake.

   • The Hill19:51
     Turley says fake pollster 'raises an interesting legal question'

     Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University Law School professor, on Wednesday said the fake pollster that claimed Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) and former Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong (D) led in their respective races by wide margins "raises an interesting legal question." "The disclosure that Median Strategies released fake polling on major political...

   • PBS NewsHour20:59
     What to know about the fake election poll numbers shared and retracted by a mysterious company

     Locked in a competitive reelection race, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared on social media last week that a new poll was evidence that her campaign was "gaining momentum."

3. Thu, 20 August 2026

   2 reports
   • The Hill19:10
     Another polling firm comes under fire for 'falsified data' on Florida primary

     A major polling tracker announced Thursday it would suspend its use of data from a pollster after it discovered evidence that the firm allegedly “falsified data” in a survey of candidates in Florida’s gubernatorial Republican primary race. The decision follows a shocking announcement last week from fake polling center Median Strategies, which admitted to spreading...

   • The Guardian World21:33
     Website behind widely shared fake election polls run by 21-year-old

     Exclusive: Rahil Prakash tells the Guardian: ‘I wanted to see if fake polls could penetrate the ecosystem that easily’ A 21-year-old recent college graduate was behind an anonymous website that put out widely shared fake election polling in Wisconsin, Nevada and California, the Guardian can reveal. The website, Median Strategies, abruptly shut down and withdrew its polling earlier this week following questions from a reporter from the Los Angeles Times . In an unsigned statement , it described...

4. Sat, 22 August 2026

   1 report
   • The Hill10:00
     'Shocking' fake poll firm puts industry under the microscope: 'Unfortunately not surprising'

     The revelation that two polls released in recent weeks from a purported polling firm were faked is adding a new curveball for a polling industry already trying to improve public trust in its work. Median Strategies made the stunning announcement earlier this past week that its poll results of the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary and the Los Angeles mayoral race were not real and...

5. Sun, 23 August 2026

   1 report
   • Axios11:40
     Synthetic everything is warping America

     A shadowy polling firm confessed this week to faking survey results in two marquee races — then claimed the entire operation was a "short-term social experiment" on misinformation. Why it matters: An AI-enabled flood of synthetic and outright fabricated content is wreaking havoc on reality, poisoning the signals people rely on to understand politics, business and culture. Catch up quick: Median Strategies, a previously unknown polling outfit with little public footprint, surfaced this summer...