Over the last few days did you see something that looks like this on your twitter feed?
🚨NEW #PAGOV POLL SHOWS MASTRIANO LEAD🚨@dougmastriano 47.4%@JoshShapiroPA 45.3%
— MAGA2024 (@MAGA202413) August 21, 2022
Others: 2%
Undecided: 5.3%
Conducted 8/15-8/19, 2,800 Likely Voters
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Yea, about that.
Chris Brennan over at the Philadelphia Inquirer has something to say about it.
Clout understands why State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, touted on social media the results of a new “poll” that for the first time showed him with a narrow lead over the Democratic nominee, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
What we don’t get: Why did Mastriano and campaign advisor Jenna Ellis leave up those social media posts for five days — as it soon became clear it was a hoax and the “pollster” had pranked him?
That's right. The poll's a fake.
The “pollster” — who would only identify himself as “a high school student from southwestern Connecticut who likes politics” — told Clout in a Twitter message exchange that he created the Twitter account Carleton Polling this month to test a theory about a “double standard” for polling and political parties.
His hypothesis: Republicans attack the credibility of established polling firms that release surveys with results they don’t like but take seriously and push polls even if they “don’t seem legitimate.”
Mastriano was his first test.
And Mastriano, retired from a career in US Army military intelligence, failed it.
Let's see how badly. The fake poll news was posted on Saturday and:
Mastriano, whose Twitter account was tagged in that tweet, quickly retweeted it and retweeted supporters who also retweeted it.
“The Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania literally retweeted a joke poll from some high schooler without questioning anything,” the student said in a follow-up email to Clout. “I’ll admit, I expected some random Twitter accounts to share it, but not Doug Mastriano himself.”
Mastriano also retweeted a Carleton Polling post Sunday that said, “It has become abundantly clear” that he “is going to win the Pennsylvania governor’s race. All the data we are analyzing right now shows him ahead.”
Again, fake poll. The campaign didn't bother to check on its validity.
This is so embarrassing for State Sen (and now GOP cand for PA Gov) Doug Mastriano.
So, so embarrassing.
