# Sneaky troll polls boost far left

> Fake polls boost far left but voters keep falling for them.
- Title: Sneaky troll polls boost far left · New York Post | Shortify
- Summary: Fake polls boost far left but voters keep falling for them. Fake polls have boosted Democratic Socialists but voters remain vulnerable to misleading data.
- Keywords: wedgewood polls, francesca hong, cori bush, abdul elsayed, haley stevens, mallory mc morrow, nate silver, fiftyplusone, democratic primary, us senate, news, entertainment
- Source: New York Post — https://nypost.com/2026/10/21/opinion/sneaky-troll-polls-boost-the-left-yet-we-keep-falling-for-them
- Published: 2026-10-21T23:45:53+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: wedgewood polls, francesca hong, cori bush, abdul elsayed, haley stevens, mallory mc morrow, nate silver, fiftyplusone, democratic primary, us senate, news, entertainment
## Fake polls boost far left
Wedgewood Polls, a new polling company, published 17 fake polls this election cycle with only one real survey.

> Wedgewood Polls, another new polling company that emerged this election cycle, was a complete fraud.
## Democratic Socialists gain traction
Fake polls boosted Democratic Socialists like Francesca Hong and Cori Bush in Wisconsin and Michigan.

> The fake polls have shown good news for both Democratic and Republican candidates, and sometimes for establishment Democrats such as Karen Bass against progressive challengers.
## Polls cited by major outlets
The New York Times, Decision Desk HQ, Vote Hub, and Nate Silver included Wedgewood’s fake polls in their election data.

> Wedgwood polls were cited on MS NOW and touted by Mississippi Democrat Scott Colom when its survey showed him tied in his US Senate race against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith.
## Democratic candidates affected
Haley Stevens and Mallory McMorrow, Democrats who lost to Abdul El-Sayed, blamed fake polls for their declining fundraising.

> Donations dried up, volunteers were devastated and pleading for guidance on what to do.
## El-Sayed wins narrow margin
Abdul El-Sayed won the Michigan Senate race by a narrower margin than the fake polls projected.

> As it turned out, El-Sayed won by a much narrower margin than the polling had projected.
## Historical pattern of fake polls
In 2010, Research 2000 published fake polls for Daily Kos that influenced Democratic primaries.

> The last big fake-polls scandal broke in 2010, when a firm called Research 2000 published bogus surveys for progressive blog Daily Kos, and founder Markos Moulitsas sued the company for fraud.
## Key takeaway

Fake polls have boosted Democratic Socialists but voters remain vulnerable to misleading data.