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Politics · North America

Wedgewood Polls admitted fabricating surveys used in election coverage

Wedgewood Polls admitted falsifying survey data after FiftyPlusOne identified irregularities in its research. Polling aggregators removed Wedgewood’s findings, which had appeared on tracking websites and social media and been cited by national news outlets.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outlets · 1 article captured only in partHow it's made

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5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 2 · R 1 · 2 unrated
Updat3 graphic: United States
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What happened

Key facts

  • Wedgewood Polls admitted fabricating or falsifying polling data (per Washington Examiner, ua.news, hungarianconservative.com).
  • FiftyPlusOne’s investigation focused on a Mississippi Senate survey and found inconsistencies in respondent and transaction identification numbers (per Washington Examiner).
  • Wedgewood Polls’ surveys covered Senate and gubernatorial contests across the country, including races that could determine control of Congress (per Washington Examiner).
  • Polling aggregators removed Wedgewood Polls’ findings after the irregularities were identified (per Washington Examiner, ua.news, hungarianconservative.com).
  • Wedgewood Polls’ results appeared on prominent tracking websites and social media pages and were cited by national news outlets (per Washington Examiner).
  • A Wedgewood Polls survey of Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary at the end of June showed Abdul el Sayed at 46%, Rep. Haley Stevens at 38%, and Mallory McMorrow at 9% (per Washington Examiner).

The brief

Wedgewood Polls admitted falsifying survey data after FiftyPlusOne identified irregularities in its research, according to the Washington Examiner. The admission concerned polls circulated in competitive Senate and gubernatorial races across the country, including contests that could affect control of Congress.

Polling aggregators removed Wedgewood’s findings after the irregularities came to light. The Washington Examiner said FiftyPlusOne concentrated its examination on a Mississippi Senate survey. The election analysis website found inconsistencies in respondent and transaction identification numbers. Wedgewood’s admission followed that scrutiny, the Examiner reported.

The surveys had reached audiences through prominent polling-tracking websites and social media pages. National news outlets also cited Wedgewood results, according to the Examiner.

The report raises questions about whether fabricated figures influenced campaign fundraising, donor confidence or perceptions of candidates’ prospects; it does not establish that any of those effects occurred. One example in the Examiner’s account was a Wedgewood survey of Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary at the end of June. It placed Abdul el Sayed at 46%, Rep.

Haley Stevens at 38% and Mallory McMorrow at 9%. The article also said between 20% and 40% of voters were undecided, describing the contest as not settled by those figures. The Examiner reported that McMorrow later suspended her campaign July 5. It did not establish that the poll affected that decision.

The article’s excerpt also described surveys in other contests, including a poll shared July 5 that placed Hong at 30%, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes at 28% and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez at 19%. A second survey, released July 21, put Hong at 38%, Barnes at 30% and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley at 9%, after Crowley revived his campaign.

The account does not provide further results for the Michigan survey beyond the figures above. The central documented consequence of the admission was that polling aggregators removed Wedgewood’s findings; the Examiner did not name other actions by the company or identify any campaign or news outlet that changed a decision because of the polls.

Why it matters

  • Campaign fundraising and donor confidence are identified as potential stakes because fabricated survey figures circulated in competitive races; the Washington Examiner does not report a measured financial effect.
  • Candidate perceptions were also at stake: Wedgewood’s results appeared on polling-tracking websites and social media and were cited by national news outlets.
  • Michigan Democratic Senate primary voters were presented with figures showing el Sayed at 46%, Stevens at 38% and McMorrow at 9%, while the Examiner said 20% to 40% of voters remained undecided.

What to watch next

  • Whether polling aggregators continue to remove Wedgewood Polls’ findings.
  • Whether Wedgewood Polls takes any further action following its admission.
  • Whether any campaign, donor or national news outlet identified by the Washington Examiner changes or corrects its use of Wedgewood polling.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 2 Center · 1 Right · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 40% · Unknown 40% · Other 20%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. Gallup’s polling organization, founded in 1935, helped establish scientific sampling as an alternative to relying on the size of a self-selected response pool.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. FiveThirtyEight launched a site combining polls and assessing their historical performance.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. AAPOR launched its Transparency Initiative, encouraging pollsters to disclose survey methods and study details.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. AAPOR’s professional standards also called for disclosure of information needed to assess a survey’s quality; the organization’s Code of Professional Ethics and Practices was revised in 2016.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. In 2016, AAPOR’s post-election review again examined polling error and emphasized that published estimates were measurements subject to sampling and non-sampling limitations, not guarantees of election outcomes.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Abdul El-Sayed entered the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

Before the Wedgewood episode, the closest national precedent for scrutiny of political polling was the 2020 U.S. election, when polls underweighted supporters of Donald Trump in several states.

In July 2021, an American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) task force reported that the errors reflected, among other factors, difficulties in reaching and weighting voters—not evidence that polls were deliberately falsified.

Original sources

2 of 5 articles · US/Canada · Show all

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