push-polling
Smear disguised as research
Push-polling is a political campaign tactic disguised as polling.
Callers pose questions designed not to gather opinions but to spread negative information about an opponent: Did you know Senator Smith was accused of tax fraud?
The "poll" plants damaging claims while creating plausible deniability.
Unlike legitimate polling, push-polls contact large numbers of voters and have no interest in tabulating responses.
Causing false beliefs
- deceptiveCreating false impressions
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
- underhandedSecretly dishonest or unfair
- smearSpread or defame
disinformation · propaganda · distortion · insidious · covert · scheming · duplicitous · astroturfing
Organized effort toward goal
- electionOrganized public voting
- voterBallot-casting citizen
- candidatePerson seeking selection
- opponentOne who contends against
primary · electorate · battleground · robocall · mudslinging · talking-points · messaging
Oblique angle or bias
- skewedAsymmetrically shifted
- one-sidednessImbalanced viewpoint or treatment
- leadingGuiding or pacing type
- prejudicialHarmfully biasing an outcome
partisan · framing · spin · tendentious · cherry-picking · selective · predetermined · rigged
Formal inquiry form
- respondentOne who gives answers
- samplingExtracting subset for study
- callerOne who phones
- scriptWritten words for performance
telephone · automated · methodology · canvassing · outreach · disguised
misleading
Causing false beliefs
- deceptiveCreating false impressions
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
- underhandedSecretly dishonest or unfair
smear · disinformation · propaganda · distortion · insidious · covert · scheming · duplicitous · astroturfing · innuendo
campaign
Organized effort toward goal
opponent · primary · electorate · battleground · robocall · mudslinging · talking-points · messaging
slant
Oblique angle or bias
- skewedAsymmetrically shifted
- one-sidednessImbalanced viewpoint or treatment
- leadingGuiding or pacing type
prejudicial · partisan · framing · spin · tendentious · cherry-picking · selective · predetermined · rigged
questionnaire
Formal inquiry form
- respondentOne who gives answers
- samplingExtracting subset for study
- callerOne who phones
script · telephone · automated · methodology · canvassing · outreach · disguised
influence
Power to affect others
suggest · nudge · undermine · discredit · defame · tarnish · damage
push-pollingexit polling
Surveying voters after balloting
Gallup poll · public opinion polling · tracking poll · focus group · census
push, poll, pushed, pushes, pushing, pusher, pushers, polled, polls