Breitbart Gets Duped By Apparently Fake Poll Showing Dr. Oz Neck and Neck With Fetterman
Jaap Arriens/Getty Images
An apparently fake poll showing Pennsylvania GOP Senate nominee Dr. Mehmet Oz and Democratic Senate nominee Lt. Gov. John Fetterman neck and neck duped Breitbart News.
“Fetterman has led Oz in most polls, often by double digits. However, the race may be tightening,” wrote Breitbart senior editor-at-large Joel Pollak in a hopeful Sunday article.
“One poll, by former Republican internal pollster Carleton Polling, suggests that Fetterman is less than one point ahead.”
The alleged poll Pollak is citing showed Fetterman with a 0.4 percentage point lead over Oz, 46.3 percent to 45.9 percent, with 4.5 percent of the vote toward others and 3.3 percent undecided.
🚨NEW #PASEN POLL SHOWS INCREDIBLY TIGHT RACE🚨@DrOz 45.9%@JohnFetterman 46.3%
Others: 4.5%
Undecided: 3.3%Conducted 8/15-8/19, 2,800 Likely Voters
Carleton was the most accurate Senate internal in 2020. Consider giving us a follow to support our new public polling journey.
— Carleton Polling (@CarletonPolling) August 20, 2022
Carleton Polling crowed about being cited in Breitbart with a tweet dripping with sarcasm.
Any doubts that we are not a legitimate pollster have now been quelled. We are a very serious organization and anyone saying otherwise is spreading misinformation. pic.twitter.com/MKx08lf2XZ
— Carleton Polling (@CarletonPolling) August 21, 2022
Despite Pollak touting the poll as coming from a “former Republican internal pollster,” there is little trace of “Carleton Polling” online.
“Carleton was the most accurate Senate internal in 2020,” the Carleton Twitter account claims. “Consider giving us a follow to support our new public polling journey.”
Yet the Twitter account only joined Twitter on Saturday, when it released the apparently fake poll. It has no website where the supposed polls, or any information about its work from 2020, are available.
Many of its tweets — including several predicting Doug Mastriano win in Pennsylvania — look like trolls of the Republican Party.
As for the particular poll cited by Pollak, no methodology is provided. There are some cross tabs provided for the Ohio Senate and Pennsylvania gubernatorial races, but they are incomplete and amateur looking.
Pollak has yet to address the apparent mistake.
