FCC Chair Warns Broadcasters Over “Fake Polls” Amid Wedgewood Fabrication

On October 21, 2026, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr posted on X that broadcasters could violate the agency’s news-distortion policies by airing “fake polls.” His warning came hours after Wedgewood Polls admitted it had fabricated election-season polling data that had been incorporated into several major aggregators. The FCC’s jurisdiction covers over-the-air radio and television stations, not print or digital outlets, and Carr suggested stations provide additional context when covering such polls.

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Fabricated polling has resurfaced during the current election cycle. After researchers from FiftyPlusOne questioned Wedgewood’s methodology, the firm said its releases were an “experiment” to expose industry vulnerabilities. Earlier this year, Median Strategies admitted to falsifying polls in a gubernatorial primary and a mayoral primary, calling the work a short-term social experiment. President Donald Trump has repeatedly dismissed unfavorable polls as “fake,” echoing his rally remarks that “Fake news, fake polls, they’re all fake.”

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• Fifteen Wedgewood polls covering state and congressional races were added to the New York Times polling database before the firm’s admission.

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• The polls were removed after the admission and did not affect national election forecasts, including the president’s approval rating.

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• Analyst Nate Silver also removed the results, noting no change to his overall projection.

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• Anna Gomez, the FCC’s sole Democratic commissioner, said the agency’s “very high bar” requires clear evidence of intentional public deception before any broadcaster could be penalized. She emphasized that stations reporting publicly available polling data in good faith are protected.

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• The FCC’s policy notes that enforcement is limited to cases where a broadcaster knowingly and deliberately distorts factual news; mere errors or opinion are not actionable.

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• Former chairs Mark Fowler and Tom Wheeler issued a statement condemning Carr’s warning as an “outrageous attempt to censor” and asserted that the commission lacks authority to dictate editorial decisions.

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Press-advocacy groups argue Carr’s message threatens First-Amendment protections. Seth Stern, chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, linked the chairman’s attacks on the press to unfavorable coverage of President Trump. Former FCC officials described the warning as part of a broader pattern of intimidation aimed at silencing dissenting voices.

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• “Pollsters who intentionally mislead the public should answer for it, but broadcasters who report publicly available polling data should never be punished when a poll is wrong,” — Anna Gomez, FCC commissioner

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• “Fake news, fake polls, they’re all fake,” — Donald Trump

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• “Broadcast TV is completely different than other forms of distribution,” — Brendan Carr

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Sources differ on how many FCC-licensed stations actually broadcast the fabricated Wedgewood data; no outlet identified specific broadcasters. While Carr invoked the FCC’s news-distortion policies, the agency’s rules require proof of deliberate deception, leaving uncertainty about future enforcement.

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Carr indicated the FCC is preparing guidance to remind broadcasters of their obligations regarding “fake polls,” with formal policy clarification expected in the coming weeks.

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