Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Poll's swing and sway. There's always a margin of error; that's all fairly elementary statistics. What is fake about reporting their own poll?


I'm not sure if pollsters putting their finger on the scale == fake news, but there's a pretty well-documented record of polls "magically [0]" converging at the end of campaigns.

Assuming pollsters are systemically altering their own polls at the very end of campaigns, I could argue that the news articles written about those altered polls are sorta fake news articles.

[0] http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/election-update-clinton-...


[removed]


I am honestly not even sure what your point is anymore. Their data doesn't make their reports "truth." Them accurately reporting on a poll is what makes them truthful. "Poll's show Hillary's chance of winning at 80%" might be astoundingly wrong at the end of the day, that doesn't make their report about the poll a lie. Whether that poll reflects reality is a matter of statistical methodology, not journalistic integrity.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: