College graduate Rahil Prakash admits to fabricating Los Angeles mayoral poll

One outlet used domain registration data to link a fabricated mayoral poll to Median Strategies and its operator, 21-year-old recent graduate Rahil Prakash. Prakash acknowledged the report when contacted by The Times, though he declined to speak further. The false poll, which claimed Karen Bass held a sizable lead over City Council member Nithya Raman, was initially.

Median Strategies later said the poll was intended as a short-term social experiment to see how unverified polling information could circulate. Prakash said the idea came after seeing inaccurate predictions in other races, such as the Michigan Senate contest involving Abdul El-Sayed. He has also produced fictitious polling data for elections in Nevada and Wisconsin. While the poll was not meant to affect trading markets, analysts note potential legal exposure if financial incentives are discovered.