National Polling Company Admits It’s Totally Fake — Crows it Was ‘Far Too Easy’ to Get Major Media Outlets to Bite

A national polling company cited in numerous outlets, including The New York Times and MS NOW, has revealed it made up its data, saying that doing so was “far too easy.”

Wedgewood Polls made the shocking admission in an X post Tuesday night after FiftyPlusOne, which reports on polling, confronted them about credentials and data.

The polling industry needs major reform, the “company” said alongside a lengthy statement.

The New York Times has added an editor’s note to an article featuring a Wedgewood poll that reads: “This page previously included surveys from Wedgewood Polls. On Oct. 20, after being questioned by the polling site FiftyPlusOne, Wedgewood released a statement admitting it had fabricated data for its polls. All of Wedgewood’s polls have been removed from our poll tracking project.”

Earlier this month, MS NOW featured a Wedgewood Poll showing Jocelyn Benson (D) with a 10-point lead over Trump-backed John James (R) in the Michigan gubernatorial race.

In addition to The Times and MS NOW, scores of media outlets and prominent poll aggregators cited Wedgewood polling data, including; Newsweek, Decision Desk HQ, and Mediaite.

Wedgewood is remarkably the second polling company of late to admit its findings are made up. In August, Median Polling Strategies reported that democratic socialist Francesca Hong held a commanding lead in the Wisconsin Governor’s race.

After Hong was handily defeated, Median shut down when confronted about its data by The Los Angeles Times.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Francesa Hong’s opponent, and the jurisdiction she was running in. The post has been updated.

——

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!