Overview
- Wedgewood disclosed Tuesday night that it fabricated nearly all of the polls it published from June through October and said the work was a “social experiment” meant to expose weak vetting in the polling ecosystem.
- Major outlets and aggregators removed dozens of Wedgewood polls after the admission, with The New York Times and Decision Desk HQ among those that said they had taken the surveys out of their tracking pages and averages.
- The polling site FiftyPlusOne flagged data irregularities, replicated tests on Wedgewood’s raw files, and contacted the group before publishing findings that preceded the firm’s public acknowledgment.
- Candidates and campaign staff report real costs from the fake numbers: Michigan state senator Mallory McMorrow says a June Wedgewood poll drained donations and helped prompt her withdrawal, and operatives say the surveys shaped media coverage and donor behavior in other contests.
- Regulators and strategists are pressing for reforms after this second high‑profile fake‑poll episode this year, with FCC Chair Brendan Carr warning broadcasters about airing unvetted polls and lawmakers and analysts calling for clearer verification, transparency on methods and funding, and possible legal accountability.