Median Strategies, a little-known polling firm, has shut down after admitting that surveys it published on the Los Angeles mayoral race and the Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial primary were fabricated. The firm claimed the fake polls were part of a short-term "social experiment" intended to study political misinformation, but the admission has raised concerns about the reliability of publicly circulated election polling and how easily fabricated data can influence political narratives.

The firm's fake poll had shown Karen Bass leading in the Los Angeles mayoral race, a result that was reported on before the fabrication came to light. Following the admission, Median Strategies announced it was ceasing operations, though details about who ran the firm and its precise motives remain unclear.