REVEALED: Polls showing Francesca Hong, Karen Bass leads were FAKE
“Median Strategies was created as a short term social experiment…”
Loading the front page…
“Median Strategies was created as a short term social experiment…”
A company has revealed that polls it released in both Los Angeles' mayoral race and Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial primary were fake, serving as a “short term social experiment” instead of real polls.
Median Strategies showed that incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was leading Councilmember Nithya Raman by around 12 percent ahead of November’s election. The company said that the poll results were based on answers from 560 Los Angeles voters between July 30 and August 5, and said the poll had a margin of error of 4.1 percent.
However, in a statement to the Los Angeles Times on Monday, the company said, “Median Strategies was created as a short term social experiment to examine how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification. We are not seeking publicity or attribution for the individuals involved and are declining interviews.”
The poll had claimed that 16 percent of respondents had voted for GOP contender Spencer Pratt, and that of those voters, 85 percent said they were planning to vote for Bass.
Median Strategies wrote in its analysis of the so-called poll, “Faced with a choice between the incumbent and a Democratic Socialists of America-aligned challenger, most Pratt voters appear to be treating Bass as the more familiar, more moderate option rather than sitting out the race.”
In a post that had since been deleted, Karen Bass had celebrated the poll’s findings. “Doing the work, showing up, and gaining momentum. Let’s do this, LA!”
A Bass spokesperson said, “This poll was reported on by a news outlet. Any bad faith attempts to influence elections should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” The poll had been reported on by outlets including the California Post.
Median first began posting to social media on August 9, writing in its first post, “Polling has a credibility problem. Ours is the fix: no partisan clients, no campaign or party money, numbers that go wherever the data takes them even when it’s inconvenient. Trustworthy polling, rebuilt.”
The company had also released a poll in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race claiming to show socialist Francesca Hong up by 20 points. She lost her race. The company said on August 12, “We got Wisconsin wrong- and by quite a margin too.”
Libby’s Desk
Commentary and must-reads from Libby’s desk, straight to your inbox.
TPM Newsletter
The Post Millennial’s top stories, delivered to your inbox.
