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What to know about the fake election poll numbers shared and retracted by a mysterious company
Summary by The San Antonio Editorial Desk Steve Peoples, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux And Ken Sweet, Associated Press , as published by KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate)
· August 18, 2026
· 1 min read
Photo: KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) · view original
Story provenance No corrections
Summary created by The San Antonio Editorial Desk — automated, rule-governed Byline on source page Steve Peoples, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux And Ken Sweet, Associated Press, as published by KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) Original story Read at the source Source published Aug 18, 2026 Indexed here Aug 19, 2026 AI assistance Automated summary drawn from the source’s own published text Prepublication human review No — editorial rules, flagged-item review, and published samples
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Key points The company, Median Strategies, admitted the results were fabricated. A mysterious company created fake election poll numbers.
A mysterious company created fake election poll numbers. These numbers were shared online and later retracted. The company, Median Strategies, admitted the results were fabricated. It claimed to be a social experiment testing how unverified information spreads through politics.
The experiment involved posting fake poll results across three states. One set of results claimed to show a candidate gaining momentum in their campaign.
Further details about the company and its intentions are available from the source, including a statement from the company before it shut down its website.
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KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) reported and published this story. The San Antonio selected it, summarised the key facts above, and links to the original. We did not report this story and we added no reporting of our own to it.
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As published by KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) . The San Antonio selects stories from publishers’ feeds, summarises them, and links back to the publisher that reported them. We add no reporting of our own. We attribute every source, link to the original report, and follow a documented editorial standards policy. To understand how stories are selected and reviewed, read our about page .
For the complete original report, visit KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) . Have a tip or correction? Contact the editor .
Category: government Published: August 18, 2026 Source: KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) Reading time: 1 min
Frequently asked about this story
What is this story about? A mysterious company created fake election poll numbers. These numbers were shared online and later retracted. The company, Median Strategies, admitted the results were fabricated. It claimed to be a…
When was this published? This article was first published on August 18, 2026 by KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate) and curated for The San Antonio readers.
Who reported this story? This story was reported by Steve Peoples, Amelia Thomson-Deveaux And Ken Sweet, Associated Press at KSAT 12 (ABC affiliate). To learn more about how The San Antonio selects and reviews stories, see our editorial standards .
Where can I find related coverage? See more government coverage from The San Antonio, or browse our daily briefing and topic hubs .
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