Wedgewood Polling admitted fabricating most of its survey results, prompting The New York Times to remove 15 of its polls from its election tracker.
Candidates, including Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow, said the misleading results affected their campaigns, while polling professionals raised concerns about the credibility of election surveys.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters about airing fake polls, drawing criticism from FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and reigniting debate over media regulation and editorial independence.
A polling firm that admitted fabricating survey results has triggered a political and media controversy in the United States ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections, after its data appeared in major election trackers and influenced political campaigns. Wedgewood Polling said it had invented most of its polling figures as an experiment to test whether media organisations and polling aggregators would scrutinise its claims before publishing them. The admission has raised concerns about the reliability of election polling and the potential consequences of misleading data for candidates, voters and news organisations.
How Did the Fake Polls Affect Media Houses and Candidates?
Wedgewood Polling had released surveys covering several competitive US races since June. Its figures were included in polling databases maintained by prominent organisations, including The New York Times and FiftyPlusOne. After the firm admitted fabricating most of its results, The New York Times removed 15 Wedgewood surveys from its election polling tracker. The newspaper said it had included the surveys after receiving answers to questions about the firm's personnel, methodology and funding.
The controversy also affected candidates. Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow said a Wedgewood poll published in June showed her support falling into single digits, contradicting her campaign's internal polling. She said the figures damaged fundraising, demoralised volunteers and prompted reporters to ask whether she would withdraw from the Democratic Senate primary. In Mississippi, Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom's campaign also cited a Wedgewood poll in a news release to support claims of growing momentum, according to reporting by The New York Times.
Wedgewood described its actions as an experiment intended to expose weaknesses in how polling data is checked. However, the episode has drawn criticism from polling professionals, who warn that fabricated surveys can distort public discussion and undermine confidence in legitimate research. FiftyPlusOne began investigating after identifying irregularities in Wedgewood's data, eventually confronting the firm over discrepancies in its polling methods.
FCC Warning Adds to Debate Over Election Polling
The controversy has also prompted a response from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, who warned broadcasters against airing fake polls that could violate their regulatory obligations. Carr said broadcasters should avoid news distortion and broadcast hoaxes. His comments came amid wider debate over the spread of fabricated election data and the responsibilities of news organisations.
The warning itself has attracted criticism. FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez argued that broadcasters should not face punishment for reporting publicly available polling data in good faith. Media and legal observers have also questioned whether the agency's rules give it authority to intervene in such editorial decisions. The episode highlights the challenge of distinguishing fraudulent surveys from legitimate polling, particularly as digital tools make fabricated data and documentation easier to produce.
The scandal follows an earlier case involving Median Strategies, another group that admitted fabricating election polls. Together, the incidents have intensified calls for greater transparency about poll sponsors, sample sizes, survey methods and funding before results are included in election trackers or reported as evidence of political momentum.
