The story so far
- Fake Polling Firms Busted for Media-Cited Polls45 sources
- FCC Warns Broadcasters Against Airing Fake Polls21 sources
- Another Polling Firm Goes Offline Amid Fake-Poll ScrutinyYou are hereLatest
Updated 1w+ ago · Politics
Another Polling Firm Goes Offline Amid Fake-Poll Scrutiny
SoCal Strategies' website, Substack and X account went offline Thursday. The polling aggregator FiftyPlusOne had been questioning who runs the firm.
- 2 SoCal polls are being removed from FiftyPlusOne's database.
- 15 Wedgewood polls were pulled from New York Times tracking pages.
- Jack Sims, linked to Wedgewood, registered SoCal in Florida in 2025.
- 3 more SoCal polls appeared after Sims dissolved the entity in May.
Why it matters: SoCal Strategies would be the third polling firm to close this year amid fabrication questions. Median Strategies and Wedgewood both called their fake polls a social experiment.
- Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow said a Wedgewood poll dried up her donations.
- Scott Colom's Mississippi Senate campaign cited a fake Wedgewood finding in a news release.
How 17 sources split on this story
Source landscape
Factuality
High
Mixed
Low
Strong LeftLeftLean LeftCenterLean RightRightStrong Right
Political Bias
Coverage by lean
17 sources · 19 articles · 53% Right coverage
Where they split: Coverage differs on emphasis: some outlets treat SoCal as established as fake, while others stress that FiftyPlusOne has not found falsification in most of its surveys.
Center coverage, 3 sources: The center tracks the investigation's twists, from identity questions to the firm's online disappearance.
Left coverage, 5 sources: The left sees a widening scandal that exposes weak vetting in polling and harms real campaigns.
Raw Story1w+Horror as another suspect polling firm vanishes amid scrutiny: 'Major scandal'The Boston Globe1w+Another fake political polls puts a spotlight on trust in surveysMediaite1w+Polling Company Goes Dark as Investigative Report Suggests They’re Yet Another FakeTalking Points Memo1w+New Developments in the Expanding “Wedgewood” Polling Scandal!Time1w+How a Fake Pollster May Have Hurt Real Candidates
Right coverage, 9 sources: The right sees a pattern of polling firms folding, with SoCal's ties to Wedgewood still unproven.
Legal Insurrection1w+SoCal Strategies Drops Offline After Questions Emerge About Wedgewood Polls TiesWashington Examiner1w+GOP lawmaker calls for FCC inquiry into outlets that reported on fabricated Wedgewood pollingHot Air1w+Once Is Happenstance. Twice Is Coincidence. The Third Time It’s Enemy Action.NewsBusters1w+YIKES: Politico Admits They Promoted the Fake Wedgewood PollsNewsmax1w+GOP Rep. Bice Asks FCC to Probe Outlets That Aired Fake PollsReason1w+Wedgewood Polls fooled the media. The company says it was a social experiment.The Daily Wire1w+In Polls We Trust?The Gateway Pundit1w+“Experimental Polling” – ANOTHER Fake Poll Exposed Covering NUMEROUS Elections– FCC’s Brendan Carr Issues Warning to Broadcasters * The Gateway Pundit * by Brian LupoThe Washington Times1w+Aggregator FiftyPlusOne drops SoCal Strategies after polling firm vanishes online
What’s next: FiftyPlusOne says it will keep SoCal polls from before May 2026. It says it has seen no credible evidence those were falsified.
- A person identifying as head pollster Wilson Rochford promised raw data, then stopped responding.
- Did Wilson Rochford run SoCal, or did someone else, possibly Sims, use his name?
- Are any other aggregated pollsters using fabricated data?
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