Polling firm admits to fabricating election data as social experiment

Who's involved

• Wedgewood Pollspolling firm that fabricated data
• Mallory McMorrowMichigan Democratic Senate candidate affected by fake poll
• FiftyPlusOnepolling aggregator that conducted investigation
• Decision Desk HQpolling aggregator that removed Wedgewood polls
• The New York Timesoutlet that tracked and then removed Wedgewood polls

The facts

• Wedgewood Polls posted statement on X Tuesday admitting it fabricated data throughout 2026 election cycle.^{1 2 3} Stated by 3 sources
• Wedgewood took credit for at least 18 polls in 2026 with fabricated data cited by aggregators.¹
• States affected by Wedgewood's fake polls include Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas.¹
• Decision Desk HQ removed 17 Wedgewood polls from its race-level polling lists and averages.²
• New York Times removed all Wedgewood polls from its poll tracking project.²
• Wedgewood's website was registered June 26 and X account created same month.²

Who said what

These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.

• Wedgewood Polls Project was social experiment to demonstrate vulnerabilities and lack of oversight in polling industry.^{1 2 3}
• Wedgewood Polls Only one Nebraska poll, which was crowdfunded, was legitimate.³
• Mallory McMorrow Wedgewood's June poll showing her at 9 percent led to donations drying up and volunteers devastated.^{1 3}
• Wedgewood Polls It was designed as wake-up call and never intended to sway election or permanently mislead public.³