Kid Rock started the buzz this summer that he might run for U. S. Senate. The incumbent is Debbie Stabenow. Who would win in that matchup?
It is certainly a talkabout and a poll would turn up the volume. But what if the poll is fake?
It can lead to fake news. We saw it happen. And we wanted to find out who was behind it. We did, sort of.
The poll was done by an organization calling itself Delphi Analytica. We found they used to have a website that was taken down. We found they used to have a Twitter account they’ve taken down.
We were told in an email exchange that the poll was done as a Google survey. Anybody with a Gmail account can set up one of those.
Professional pollsters say they have to be impartial to candidates and issues plus transparency and credibility are also necessary. Their websites show who’s running their organization and they display past polls.
In that email exchange, the people behind Delphi Analytica would not identify themselves, they would not talk on camera.
They wrote: "we're just a bunch of amatuer pollers (sic) starting our career and don't want to be tainted by this witch hunt"
And they took a shot at the professional pollsters: "those dinasaurs (sic) will be stuck in the past and firms like delphi will continue doing great work."
Another email exchange signed off: "Thanks again and go kid rock"
