{"id":2647530,"date":"2026-08-20T18:27:57","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-more-polling-firms-face-scrutiny-for-failing-to-meet-ethical-standards\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T18:31:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T22:31:51","slug":"two-more-polling-firms-face-scrutiny-for-failing-to-meet-ethical-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-more-polling-firms-face-scrutiny-for-failing-to-meet-ethical-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Two more polling firms face scrutiny for failing to meet &#8216;ethical standards&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftwo-more-polling-firms-face-scrutiny-for-failing-to-meet-ethical-standards%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2647530&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>FiftyPlusOne, a polling aggregate, has suspended its cooperation with two polling firms, the Public Sentiment Institute (TPSI) and Patriot Polling, due to concerns over their ethical practices in Florida\u2019s Republican gubernatorial primary race. The group accused these firms of not fully disclosing campaign funding sources and alleged that TPSI fabricated data favoring candidate James Fishback, which TPSI denies. The controversy follows recent scrutiny of polling organizations, including the fake firm Median Strategies, highlighting increasing skepticism towards poll accuracy in the upcoming midterm elections. FiftyPlusOne stated it would mark all data from these firms as partisan and banned future data from TPSI. Both firms responded, with TPSI acknowledging a methodological error involving respondent data but denying purposeful falsification. The incident occurs as candidates like Byron Donalds win Florida\u2019s GOP primary, with polls showing him as the favourite to face Democrat David Jolly in the general election. The overall situation raises concerns about polling integrity ahead of the 2026 midterms.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Popular <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/polling\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"306\">polling<\/a> aggregate FiftyPlusOne has suspended its work with two polling firms over ethical concerns related to their surveys in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/florida\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"159\">Florida\u2019s<\/a> Republican gubernatorial primary race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The major <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4665479\/james-fishback-stay-florida-ballot-judge-dismiss-lawsuit\/\">political polling aggregate<\/a> said the two pollsters, The Public Sentiment Institute and Patriot Polling, did not adequately disclose that they had received funding from GOP gubernatorial candidate <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4675324\/what-to-know-james-fishback-byron-donalds\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"4675324\">James Fishback\u2019s<\/a> campaign before conducting their polls in the governor\u2019s race. FiftyPlusOne also alleged that the TPSI polling firm fabricated data from a poll in favor of Fishback, a characterization the firm denies.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4695147\/poll-firm-scrutiny-fail-ethic-standard-in-favor-florida-candidate-james-fishback\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Two more polling firms face scrutiny for failing to meet \u2018ethical standards\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4693841\/mike-lindell-recount-minnesota-governor-loss\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Lindell self-funding recount in double-digit Minnesota governor primary loss<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4692052\/david-jolly-byron-donalds-poll-florida-governor\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Jolly winning independents as he battles Donalds for Florida governor\u2019s mansion<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The scrutiny of the two polling firms comes just days after a separate fake polling firm, Median Strategies, made headlines for <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4690625\/karen-bass-fake-poll-la-mayor-race\/\">falsified polling <\/a>it released in the Los Angeles mayoral race and a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4690901\/fake-polling-firm-misinformation-francesca-hong-lead-wisconsin-gubernatorial-race\/\">misleading report<\/a> it published in the Wisconsin governor\u2019s race. The instances of alleged unethical polling in the Florida governor\u2019s primary are the latest to increase <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4692211\/fake-polls-median-strategies-midterm-elections\/\">skepticism<\/a> toward polls in the 2026 midterm season.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have discovered evidence that suggests both firms conducted surveys for political campaigns without disclosing their clients publicly,\u201d FiftyPlusOne said in a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.fiftyplusone.news\/p\/suspending-two-pollsters-data-falsification-undisclosed-partisan-work\">statement<\/a> released Thursday. \u201cAll surveys from each pollster that exist in our database at publication will be marked as partisan, as we cannot be confident they were conducted on a nonpartisan basis as the pollsters claim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FiftyPlusOne said they are \u201cpermanently banning\u201d the use of data from TPSI in the future and \u201csuspending\u201d the use of future data from Patriot Polling until the firm responds to the aggregate\u2019s inquiries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The aggregate wrote in their statement that Fishback\u2019s campaign paid TPSI $1,575 for \u201cpolling\/survey\u201d ahead of two June polls they released on the gubernatorial primary and paid the CEO of Patriot Polling $1,500 for \u201cpolling\u201d ahead of one February poll they released on the primary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">FiftyPlusOne also said that TPSI \u201cfabricated vote-choice data\u201d in favor of Fishback as part of its survey in the primary, though the firm denies intentionally doing so. The aggregate pointed to a review the firm published, in which TPSI said they \u201cidentified respondents who selected [Lt. Gov. Jay] Collins but whose broader profile aligned with a competing coalition, and leaned those respondents toward James Fishback,\u201d calling it, in retrospect, a \u201cconsequential error.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, TPSI said they \u201chave taken responsibility for that methodological failure, retired the adjustment, and implemented new controls to prevent it from recurring\u201d and added that \u201cthe underlying survey data was not fabricated or altered.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have been transparent about where we failed and have published the evidence necessary for our work to be scrutinized,\u201d TPSI wrote in the statement. \u201cWe accept criticism of our methodological error, but the record does not support describing that error as deliberate falsification.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> has reached out to both Patriot Polling and Fishback\u2019s campaign for comment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thursday\u2019s news brings more scrutiny to the polling industry after reports about Median Strategies, which <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/state\/4690625\/karen-bass-fake-poll-la-mayor-race\/\">said<\/a> it was conducting a \u201csocial experiment\u201d in its fake polling, and the results in several states that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/in_focus\/4687990\/why-the-polls-got-it-so-wrong\/\">proved polling estimates wrong<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4692211\/fake-polls-median-strategies-midterm-elections\/\">HOW FAKE POLLING COULD UPEND THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President Donald Trump-backed Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/byron-donalds\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"6250\">Byron Donalds<\/a> (R-FL) defeated Fishback and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (R-FL) in Florida\u2019s GOP gubernatorial primary on Tuesday, setting him up to take on Democratic former Rep. David Jolly in the general election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Donalds was seen as the favorite throughout most GOP <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/florida-governor-election-polls-2026.html\">primary polls<\/a> and has a single-digit edge over Jolly in the limited <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/polls\/florida-governor-election-polls-2026.html\">general election polling<\/a> so far in the race. Cook Political Report <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cookpolitical.com\/governor\/race\/479481\">lists<\/a> the race as solidly Republican.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FiftyPlusOne suspends ties with two pollsters over ethics issues in Florida race<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2647531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26153668313720.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4381,15698,12168],"class_list":["post-2647530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ethics","tag-polling","tag-survey"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26153668313720.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2647530"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647530\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2647533,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2647530\/revisions\/2647533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2647531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2647530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2647530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2647530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}