USAupdated 48m ago2 min read
Wedgewood Polling Fabricated US Midterm Polls, FCC Head Brendan Carr Warns Networks
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Wedgewood Polling admitted fabricating most poll data as an 'experimental project'. Major outlets cited the firm's fake surveys, including the New York Times and FiftyPlusOne.
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Wedgewood admits fabrication
Wedgewood Polling admitted to fabricating its numbers on the US midterm elections, saying it was an "experiment" to test whether media outlets and poll aggregators would report on the data. FiftyPlusOne raised questions over Wedgewood's surveys for Mississippi, and the aggregator carried out its own survey using the same platform used by the self-professed pollster, which confirmed its suspicion about the data.
Wedgewood said it wanted to test "How easy is it for an entirely fabricated polling firm to gain traction, be taken seriously, and expose how little scrutinisation exists in media and public commentary?" Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr warned on X that TV networks could violate their regulatory obligations by airing "fake polls."
Media removals and backlash
The New York Times removed Wedgewood polls Tuesday night and published an editors' note saying it had included 15 Wedgewood polls on its page that tracks surveys of outside pollsters for key midterm elections. The New York Times said it included the surveys by Wedgewood after the pollster answered a series of detailed questions about the pollsters' identities, methods and funding.
Mallory McMorrow said the impact of Wedgewood's "experiment" was that "Donations dried up, volunteers were devastated and pleading for guidance on what to do, and reporters hounded me with calls to drop out," after a late June poll showed her plummeting into single digits. Mike Nellis called the pollster "absolute scumbags" and said they "lied about their polling data, got caught, and are freaking out because they've committed fraud."
FCC warning and wider hoaxes
Brendan Carr posted that the FCC would take the issue seriously, reminding broadcasters that they are, "prohibited by the terms of their federal icenses from engaging in News Distortion or promoting Broadcast Hoaxes."
The DDIA newsletter said a new wave of false and misleading claims targeting election procedures, political figures and the integrity of the vote was gaining traction online with just over two weeks until the November 3 midterm elections.
Snopes identified a fabricated screenshot circulating on social media that purported to show Elon Musk declaring on X, "No one needs to worry about Democrats winning the midterm elections. I have a plan."
DDIA also said fact-checkers debunked a viral quotation falsely attributed to Pope Leo XIV that claimed Trump needed chaos, martial law and emergency powers to avoid holding the midterms.