Median Strategies admits fabricating polls in three US states in August 2026
The firm posted fake results for races in California, Wisconsin and Nevada before shutting its website
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
A close-up view of “I Voted” stickers at Maples Elementary School on primary election day, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Nic Antaya) CORRECTION: Corrects location to Dearborn NOT Detroit
Photograph: Associated Press News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Median Strategies, a previously unknown firm, admitted to fabricating election polls in California, Wisconsin and Nevada in August 2026.
- The Los Angeles poll claimed Mayor Karen Bass led councilmember Nithya Raman by about 12 percentage points and was shared by the Bass campaign on social media.
- Major polling aggregators excluded the polls due to missing methodology details and lack of response from Median Strategies.
- No right-rated outlet covered the story, according to the reports below.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
70/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
15/100
6 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
A firm calling itself Median Strategies posted fabricated election polls online in August 2026 for races in three US states. The polls claimed to show results for the Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin, the gubernatorial race in Nevada, and the mayoral race in Los Angeles. Median Strategies admitted the polls were fake in a statement before shutting its website.
The Los Angeles poll, which purported to show incumbent Mayor Karen Bass leading councilmember Nithya Raman by about 12 percentage points, was shared by the Bass campaign on social media. The campaign later deleted the post but said the poll had been reported by multiple news outlets. Bass campaign spokesman Alex Stack said, "Any bad faith attempts to influence elections should be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Major polling aggregators, including The New York Times, Real Clear Politics and FiftyPlusOne, excluded the Median Strategies polls from their databases. The New York Times said the polls lacked basic information about methodology and the firm’s operators. FiftyPlusOne noted missing details about the voter file source and sample vendor. Median Strategies did not respond to requests for information from either outlet.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports below carried the story. The omission is a finding: no right-rated outlet in the material provided covered the admission by Median Strategies or the details of the fabricated polls.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 2 times, most recently on 19 Aug 2026, 01:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
3 rated outlets
- The three left-rated reports led on the admission by Median Strategies that the polls were fabricated. The Associated Press and SF Gate digests both noted that none of the polls appeared in AP coverage. The Associated Press report, the only full article among the left-rated outlets, quoted Chris Wilson, a Republican pollster, saying the incident reflected broader risks in the polling industry. It also detailed how major aggregators excluded the polls due to lack of transparency.
- The Associated Press report used the phrase "cautionary tale" to describe the incident and quoted the Bass campaign’s defence that the poll had been reported by multiple news outlets. It also included a direct quote from Alex Stack, the Bass campaign spokesman, calling for investigations into bad-faith attempts to influence elections.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The two centre-rated reports, both full articles from WKMG and KSAT 12, led on the same facts as the left-rated outlets: the admission by Median Strategies and the details of the fabricated polls. WKMG’s report, identical to the Associated Press article, included the quote from Chris Wilson and the exclusion of the polls by major aggregators. It also carried the Bass campaign’s statement on the need for investigations.
- Neither centre-rated report added new details or framing beyond what the Associated Press published. The KSAT 12 digest did not provide additional information.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
6 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
3- Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys (opens SF Gate in a new tab)
- Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys (opens Associated Press News in a new tab)
Associated Press News — is Associated Press News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys (opens ABC News in a new tab)
Centre
3- Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys (opens Wavy in a new tab)
- Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys (opens KSAT 12 in a new tab)
- Fake polling from mysterious company highlights danger of unvetted election surveys (opens WKMG in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Median Strategies admits fabricating polls in three US states in August…?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 50% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Median Strategies admits fabricating polls in three US states in August… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Median Strategies admits fabricating polls in three US states in August… biased?
- Median Strategies admits fabricating polls in three US states in August 2026 is one event reported by 6 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Median Strategies admits fabricating polls in three US states in August…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Median Strategies admits fabricating polls in three US states in August…?
- 6 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Which polls did Median Strategies fabricate?
- Median Strategies admitted to fabricating polls for the Democratic primary for governor in Wisconsin, the gubernatorial race in Nevada, and the mayoral race in Los Angeles in August 2026. The Los Angeles poll claimed Mayor Karen Bass led councilmember Nithya Raman by about 12 percentage points.
- Why were the polls excluded by major aggregators?
- Major polling aggregators like The New York Times and FiftyPlusOne excluded the Median Strategies polls because they lacked basic information about methodology and the firm’s operators. Median Strategies did not respond to requests for details, which is standard practice for inclusion in aggregator databases.
- Did any right-rated outlet cover the story?
- No right-rated outlet covered the story, according to the reports provided. The omission is a finding of the coverage comparison: the admission by Median Strategies and the details of the fabricated polls were not reported by any right-rated outlet in the material below.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
