Website behind widely shared fake election polls run by 21-year-old

A 21-year-old recent college graduate has been identified as the individual behind an anonymous website that disseminated widely shared, fabricated election polls in Wisconsin, Nevada, and California. The website, operating under the name Median Strategies, aimed to explore how easily false information could infiltrate the political ecosystem.

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I wanted to see if fake polls could penetrate the ecosystem that easily

In an exclusive statement to The Guardian, the individual, identified as Rahil Prakash, stated, “I wanted to see if fake polls could penetrate the ecosystem that easily.” The website's abrupt shutdown and retraction of its polling data followed inquiries from a Los Angeles Times reporter. In an unsigned statement, the site described its actions as a “short-term social experiment” designed to examine the rapid spread of fake polling data without independent verification.

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short-term social experiment

The operation highlights concerns about the vulnerability of online information channels to manipulation, particularly during election cycles. The ease with which the fake polls gained traction and were shared underscores the challenges in verifying information in the digital age.

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could enter and spread through the political information ecosystem without independent verification