A polling firm admitted to fabricating data and claimed it was part of a social experiment.

Multiple high-profile incidents involved mysterious entities releasing manufactured survey numbers that successfully infiltrated major media outlets, aggregator databases, and political campaign feeds. When confronted by researchers, the individuals or groups behind the fake polls admitted to fabricating the data and asserted that the stunt was designed as a deliberate social experiment to test the vulnerability and oversight of polling trackers.newsweek.comnewsweek.comFake Polling Firm Duped Media in Social ExperimentFollowing the Median Strategies event, a similar controversy emerged involving another firm named Wedgewood Polls Wedgewood admitted to fabricating data for multiple surveys after being confronted by election analysis researchers (FiftyPlusOne)pbs.orgpbs.orgWhat to Know About the Fake Election Poll Numbers Shared and Retracted by a...There have actually been two distinct, high-profile instances in recent election cycles where a mysterious entity published fabricated polling data and later claimed it was a "social experiment" designed to test the vulnerability of media...

Major news organizations, tracking databases, and aggregators were forced to scrub the erroneous data after publication.forbes.comforbes.comFccs Brendan Carr Warns Broadcast Networks Run Afoul of Agency for Airing Fake...This second wave successfully duped several national media outlets and snuck into major tracking databases (including The New York Times, Decision Desk HQ, and Nate Silver’s database) before being scrubbed and resulting in sharp... Professional oversight organizations such as the American Association for Public Opinion Research strongly condemned the practice, warning that injecting deliberate falsehoods into active political cycles undermines public trust.govt.dartmouth.edugovt.dartmouth.eduFake Polls Wisconsin and California Were Part Social ExperimentReactions: Professional polling standards organizations, such as the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), heavily condemned the fabrication of data, warning that injecting deliberate falsehoods into active political...