Fake Poll Exposed! LA Firm Admits "Social Experiment," Shuts Down
Fake Poll Exposed! LA Firm Admits "Social Experiment," Shuts Down
A Los Angeles polling firm confessed to fabricating a survey showing Mayor Bass with a double-digit lead, calling it a "social experiment." The company has now closed. Find out what this means for election integrity!
A Los Angeles-based polling firm, Median Strategies, has closed its doors after admitting to publishing a completely fabricated survey. The fake poll claimed that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass held a significant double-digit lead over her rival, Councilmember Nithya Raman, in the upcoming November 3 runoff election. The company stated that this entire operation was merely "a short-term social experiment" to examine how easily unverified polling information could spread through the political information ecosystem.
Median Strategies posted a notice on its website confirming the closure and advising that none of its past surveys should be considered "genuine polling data." The firm insisted that no one involved in the project received any financial benefit or compensation from this "experiment." This revelation came after repeated inquiries from the Los Angeles Times, which uncovered the deception.
The fabricated survey, released just last week, had presented a detailed picture, claiming Bass led Raman by nearly 12 percentage points. It even provided specifics like surveying 560 Los Angeles voters between July 30 and August 5, with a reported margin of error of 4.2 percentage points. Further adding to the intricate deception, the poll falsely asserted that 16 percent of respondents had voted for Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican, in the primary, and an astonishing 85 percent of those voters intended to back Bass in the general election.
Mayor Bass, who took office in 2022, had even promoted this bogus poll on her social media channels, highlighting the reach and potential impact of such fabricated data. The firm's admission raises serious questions about the integrity of election polling and the need for greater scrutiny and verification of information, especially during crucial election periods. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges in distinguishing genuine data from deliberately misleading content in today's fast-paced media environment.
