Pollster admits to fabricating data for ‘social experiment’ to expose flaws of industry

Wedgewood Polls said project was designed to highlight lack of scrutiny over polling sector by mainstream media A polling firm has admitted to using fabricated data in surveys that were picked up by national media outlets in the US, claiming the project was a “social experiment” designed to expose the lack of scrutiny over the sector. Wedgewood Polls released a statement on Tuesday on social media, after the polling and election analysis site FiftyPlusOne reached out for comment on an investigation it had conducted into their surveys and data. Continue reading...

Lucy Campbell · Wed, Oct 21, 2026, 10:12 AM
US news | The Guardian

Pollster admits to fabricating data for ‘social experiment’ to expose flaws of industry

Wedgewood Polls said project was designed to highlight lack of scrutiny over polling sector by mainstream media

A polling firm has admitted to using fabricated data in surveys that were picked up by national media outlets in the US, claiming the project was a “social experiment” designed to expose the lack of scrutiny over the sector.

Wedgewood Polls released a statement on Tuesday on social media, after the polling and election analysis site FiftyPlusOne reached out for comment on an investigation it had conducted into their surveys and data.

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