Wedgewood Polling, a national organization, announced that the majority of its data had been fabricated. The firm stated this was an "experimental project to demonstrate the vulnerabilities" of the modern political polling industry, according to PBS News.
The admission came after FiftyPlusOne, a polling and election analysis site, questioned the accuracy of Wedgewood's results. Wedgewood Polling's statement on X indicated their goal was to test how easily a fabricated polling firm could gain credibility and expose a lack of scrutiny in media and public commentary.
Wedgewood Polling's data had been cited by several national news outlets, including FiftyPlusOne and The New York Times, which have since removed the data. Other outlets that cited Wedgewood's polls included MS NOW, Newsweek, Decision Desk HQ, and Mediaite.
Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics and political science at Columbia University, expressed skepticism about Wedgewood Polling's claim that the project was always intended as an experiment, noting the timing of the admission. Wedgewood Polling described itself as a "fictional entity run by a small group of industry veterans."
FiftyPlusOne and The New York Times stated they had contacted Wedgewood Polling with questions about the organization and its methods before including the data. FiftyPlusOne reported that the firm was run by Jack Sims and Andrew Prater, and confirmed Sims had prior polling experience.
Prior to Wedgewood's admission, Straight Arrow News and Urban Milwaukee had raised concerns about the firm's reliability. Urban Milwaukee editor Bruce Murphy questioned Wedgewood Polling in July and August, calling it "a shady outfit." Straight Arrow News noted the absence of employee names, a phone number, or an address on Wedgewood Polling's website.
Federal Communications Commission head Brendan Carr stated that TV networks could violate regulatory obligations by airing "fake polls." He added there has been a "significant surge in entirely Fake Polls and Suppression Polls" this election season, without citing specific evidence or polls. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez disagreed, stating broadcasters reporting publicly available polling data in good faith should not be penalized.
led to a decline in donations and volunteer morale. McMorrow concluded that while a point about broken polling was proven, it negatively affected many people's efforts.