Polling Firm Says Data In Closely Watched DSA Race Was ‘Social Experiment,’ Then Shuts Down

August 18, 2026 12:08 PM ET A polling company that showed former Democratic Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong leading by over 20 points admitted to faking polls, then shut down Monday.Median Strategies announced that its data was a “short-term social experiment” after releasing several polls related to the Wisconsin gubernatorial race and Los Angeles mayoral election. The company released a poll that showed Hong, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), leading her then-opponent David Crowley by over 20 points. “Median Strategies was created as a short-term social experiment examining how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification,” the company announced. (RELATED: Why Did P