Polling Firm Wedgewood Admits Its Surveys Were Fabricated After Data Outlet's Inquiry

Wedgewood Polls, a political polling firm, said in a public statement on Tuesday that it was a "fictional entity" that had published fabricated numbers, after the data-journalism outlet FiftyPlusOne contacted it this week with allegations that it had manipulated survey data. The firm had released more than a dozen surveys in recent months showing progressives leading primary races and Democrats close in traditionally Republican states. It then deleted its website and social media accounts. Wedgewood called the effort an experiment to show weak oversight and a low barrier to entry in political polling. Newsweek said it retracted three articles and corrected others that cited the polls, and that Silver's tracking ahead of the midterms also used them. Nate Silver criticized the operators on Thursday.

Right-leaning National Review, in its brief excerpt, calls it a real fake-polls scandal that warrants continued skepticism rather than dismissing all polling. Left-leaning Slate stresses the deception, noting that Wedgewood also misled outlets that asked about its methods, so its explanation is hard to accept. Alternative outlets diverge: ZeroHedge focuses on Silver's profane reaction on the Still Counting podcast, while Newsweek reports his view that the episode could feed distrust of polls, citing Trump's use of "fake polls"; it asked the White House for comment.