Wedgewood Polls Says Most Releases Used Fabricated Data

Wedgewood Polls said on October 20 that the vast majority of its published polls were not based on genuine survey data, describing the operation as an experiment to test how polling firms and media outlets scrutinize new pollsters. The admission followed an investigation by polling site FiftyPlusOne, which said it had examined Wedgewood’s survey records and confronted the firm that day. Wedgewood said its aim was to show how an entirely fabricated polling firm could gain credibility and be included in polling aggregations. It acknowledged that most of its releases lacked genuine data, while saying one Nebraska Senate poll, funded through crowdfunding, was genuine. The company’s explanation of its purpose has not been independently established. FiftyPlusOne said Wedgewood had shared raw data from a Mississippi Senate survey on October 15. The firm said its researchers found problems in electronic markers in the data, checked information with Pollfish, and raised their findings with Wedgewood. FiftyPlusOne also disputed Wedgewood’s claim that aggregators had not properly vetted it, saying it had checked the operators’ backgrounds and reviewed the company’s published methodology...