Median Strategies Admits to Creating Fake Election Polls

The company Median Strategies has shut down its operations after admitting it created and disseminated fake political polls for several primary and general election races. The company described the activity as a "short-term social experiment" to study how unverified information spreads through the political ecosystem. However, legitimate pollsters suggest the actual motive was to manipulate prediction markets, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, for financial gain.

One high-profile fake poll targeted the Los Angeles mayoral race, falsely claiming incumbent Mayor Karen Bass was gaining momentum from former Spencer Pratt voters. The Bass campaign promoted the data, and the California Post reported on it before the Los Angeles Times exposed the fraud. Nithya Raman, a Los Angeles City Council member and mayoral challenger, criticized the Bass administration for failing to vet the information. Other fake polls were distributed regarding races for governor and lieutenant governor in Nevada, as well as the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin.

Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan and other election officials warned that this misinformation, coupled with the rise of prediction markets, threatens public trust in the democratic process. Logan noted that election administration is currently affected by perception and misinformation, stating that prediction markets are increasingly interpreted as indicators of likely outcomes.