Overview
- Median Strategies, a previously unknown account that began posting in early August, acknowledged Monday that several published polls were fabricated and described the work as a “short-term social experiment.”
- The Los Angeles release falsely claimed Mayor Karen Bass led Nithya Raman by about 12 points based on 560 respondents and was amplified online before Bass posted the graphic and later deleted it.
- Bass’s campaign has called for an investigation and possible prosecution, while Raman’s campaign criticized the mayor’s team for failing to vet the source before sharing the results.
- Median Strategies removed its polling releases, shut down its site, said no one involved received financial gain and declined interviews, but the identities and motives of the people behind the project remain unknown.
- The episode produced small moves in prediction markets and exposed gaps in how outlets and aggregators vet new pollsters, underscoring the need for transparent methodology and clearer verification rules for public polling.