Fake News: Media Push Polling on Trump Approval Ratings?

push polling trump fake news

After the conclusion of the 2016 presidential election cycle, many on the left were dumbfounded as to how Trump was able to win so decisively — I mean weren’t “all” the polls predicting a Clinton victory? This discrepancy between what the polls were predicting and what actually occurred has been a catalyst for many (including this author) for suspecting that national leftist media and polling organizations had been actively push polling (intentionally creating and structuring poll questions or selecting pollees to produce certain answers rather than others); a despicable practice, caring nothing for the truth and meant one hundred percent to manipulate a trusting populace. Is the latest strategy of the left simply to accuse their opponents of something (like fake news) and then go and produce that very thing? Here is an excerpt from the “latest polls” section at RealClearPolitics. Notice the giant swings (as much as 8 points on the same day) between the different polling organizations when asking a group “representative of the general population” the “same questions.”

trump approval

This is the same sort of phenomenon we witnessed in the polling leading up to the election, when many organizations were showing Clinton with large leads across the board — particularly in states that she lost. Look at this sample just two days before the election, showing Clinton with leads in Michigan and Wisconsin exceeding the margin of error, and with a lead in Ohio (which she lost by 8 points two days later).

From just a cursory glance at this data, it appears that Trump’s real approval rating is probably right around 50%. Was that just too positive for CNN and ABC; causing them to make up a more negative story of their own? If it hasn’t happened already, these polling organizations are destroying their own credibility, and in the long run, their ability to do business in a market of objective polling. Is there a market for subjective polling? In this increasingly compartmentalized society of echo-chambers, there just might be a market for people who want to see a “poll” that tells them exactly what they want to hear — regardless of whether or not it has any bearing on reality — and so we should expect to see more of this in the future.  Will the general population wise up and be able to tell the difference between the two? I doubt it.

What do you think? Are these polling discrepancies based on some sort of real, chaotic data phenomenon? Or is it just more “fake news” aimed toward a political agenda? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments below.




About Patrick Stephens 163 Articles
Patrick is the founder and lead editor of the publication. Currently a pastor of many years by trade, Patrick served in the US Army and did his graduate work at both Miami University in Oxford, OH (Social Sciences) and the University of Dayton (Theology) — earning an advanced degree. He enjoys bringing a larger historical and philosophical perspective to his projects. Also, he likes comic books.