Wedgewood Polls Fabricated Surveys

What happened

Wedgewood Polling admitted that all but one of its election-cycle surveys were fabricated, prompting polling aggregators and news outlets to remove its data. Nate Silver dropped Wedgewood from his model, saying its polls had generally favored Democrats by about one point; El-Sayed’s projected Michigan Senate lead fell from 3.6 points to 3 points. The episode hit a midterm campaign where polling averages and forecasts help shape views of close races, after another firm earlier admitted fabricating surveys as a social experiment. Wedgewood said it acted to expose weak scrutiny, not to mislead voters. FiftyPlusOne said that explanation came after Wedgewood learned an investigation was near publication.

How each side covered it

From the left

Left-leaning outlets framed the episode as a trust failure in polling systems, with sharper attention to campaign harm than partisan advantage. The New York Times emphasized weak vetting as small firms and prediction markets give shaky numbers public weight. TPM argued the fabricated data shaped Democratic primary narratives and described Republican attacks on polling as an effort to keep supporters engaged.

From the right

Right-leaning outlets cast the scandal as proof that polling gatekeepers and major media can lend false numbers authority, stressing partisan effects. Fox News focused on bogus surveys that made far-left candidates look stronger than they were. The New York Post treated the episode as fraud, cited Mallory McMorrow on campaign damage, and said the reform claim came only after exposure.

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Wedgewood Polls Fabricated Surveys

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What happened

How each side covered it

From the left

From the right

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Center3

Right18

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