A polling outfit that admitted surveys it released on the Los Angeles mayor's race and the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin were fake is now out of business.Median Strategies, the company that released polls indicating Democratic Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles and Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong leading their rivals by wide margins, announced this week that the surveys were a hoax and that it has closed its doors.The fabricated polls by Median Strategies entered the political information ecosystem and were reported on social media, by some local TV newscasts, and online reporting outlets."Median Strategies was created as a short-term social experiment to examine how purported polling information could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification," the company posted on its website."Median Strategies has concluded its polling project and will not publish additional polls."CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACESLos Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, right, will face off with city council member Nithya Raman in city's general election for mayor.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images; Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)In addition, the company told Fox News that the organization was not affiliated with any candidate, political action committee, or party.Median Strategies first released a poll showing Bass with a 12-point lead over Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman, a rival in the June mayoral primary and a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member.The poll cited the responses of 560 Angelenos, with a 4.1% margin of error.Bass ended up edging Raman by 5 points in the primary, with Republican Spencer Pratt, who was running as an independent in the Democrat-dominated city, coming in third.
The mayor and Raman will face off in the general election.DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUBDemocratic gubernatori...