Fake 'Social Experiment' Poll Showed Hong With Massive Lead Before Wisconsin Primary Loss

A polling firm that showed Democratic state Rep. Francesca Hong with a commanding lead in Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor has admitted the numbers were fake, calling the whole operation a short-term social experiment.

Median Strategies, which described itself as an independent polling and research firm, had shown Hong leading Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley by more than 20 percentage points ahead of the Aug. 11 primary, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Hong ultimately lost to Crowley by a thin margin.

On Aug. 12, the day after the primary, the company posted on X, "We got Wisconsin wrong- and by quite a margin too."

It later took down its website altogether and admitted none of its polls, including the Wisconsin numbers, were real.

Median Strategies said it had been created as a short-term "social experiment" to see how purported polling information could spread through the political system without independent verification.

The company added that it was not seeking publicity for the people involved and declined interview requests.

Wisconsin was not the only race the company targeted. Median Strategies also published a fake poll showing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass with a nearly 12-point lead over City Council member Nithya Raman, based on a supposed survey of 560 voters.

Bass praised the numbers in a since-deleted post on X before the poll was revealed as fabricated, and her campaign is now calling for an investigation.

The company had only about 20 followers on social media before it shut down, and no individuals have been publicly tied to it, ABC 7 reported.