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Fake Polls and Hateful Ads Are Poisoning American Politics (w/ Mallory McMorrow)

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Cite

Stein, S. (2026, October 23). Fake Polls and Hateful Ads Are Poisoning American Politics (w/ Mallory McMorrow). The Bulwark. https://www.thebulwark.com/p/bulwark-sam-and-mallory-substack

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The Bulwark · collected 2026-10-23 · by Sam Stein commentary

Quick Summary

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow discusses on Sam Stein's show how a fabricated poll negatively impacted her Senate campaign by drying up donations, rattling volunteers, and prompting reporters to ask about her dropping out. The episode explores broader issues in American politics, such as fake polls, scam political action committees, and the need for more transparency and accountability. Additionally, McMorrow addresses Islamophobic ads and death threats against women running for office in Michigan.
Written by AI on 2026-10-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Mallory McMorrow, a Michigan State Senator, recently joined journalist Sam Stein on his podcast to discuss the impact of fake polls on her Senate campaign, which led to dried-up donations and volunteer disarray. The fabricated poll negatively influenced media coverage and donor confidence, prompting reporters to question when she would withdraw from the race. Additionally, McMorrow highlighted broader issues in American politics, such as scam political action committees (PACs) and the need for increased transparency and accountability. She also addressed Islamophobic attacks against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, including harmful campaign ads and death threats aimed at women candidates running for state office.

Written for “Fake Polls And Hateful Ads” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Fake Polls And Hateful Ads
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly left and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
9
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 9 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
expected in commentary, which argues a position · beta estimate
Publisher signals
not measured
these signals count newsroom corrections; Commentary has none to count
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-23 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Bulwark · 555 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected
No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Who wrote this

Sam Stein
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2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Fake Polls and Hateful Ads Are Poisoning American Politics (w/ Mallory McMorrow)
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 27 articles by Sam Stein →

Topics

American JVL Michigan State Senate The Bulwark

Subjects

Mallory McMorrow PERSON · 3× The Bulwark ORG · 3× American NORP · 2× JVL ORG · 2× McMorrow PERSON · 2× Michigan State ORG · 2× Sam Stein PERSON · 2× Senate ORG · 2× Abdul El-Sayed PERSON · 1× Michigan GPE · 1×

Narrative

Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow joins Sam Stein for her take on how a fabricated poll had real consequences for her Senate campaign, drying up donations, rattling volunteers, and prompting reporters to ask when she would drop out.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-23
🔮 Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow joins Sam Stein for her take on how a fabricated poll had real consequences for her Senate campaign, drying up donations, rattling volunteers, and prompting reporters to ask when she would drop out.
2026-10-23 · The Bulwark
Fake Polls and Hateful Ads Are Poisoning American Politics (w/ Mallory McMorrow) · assertive framing

Claims (9 extracted, 0 hedged)

Fake Polls and Hateful Ads Are Poisoning American Politics (w/ Mallory McMorrow) asserted
Polls → poison → McMorrow
Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow joins Sam Stein for her take on how a fabricated poll had real consequences for her Senate campaign, drying up donations, rattling volunteers, and prompting reporters to ask when she would drop out. asserted
she → join → reporters
Michigan State Senator Mallory McMorrow joins Sam Stein for her take on how a fabricated poll had real consequences for her Senate campaign, drying up donations, rattling volunteers, and prompting reporters to ask when she would drop out. asserted
she → join → reporters
They examine how fake polling can distort media coverage, influence donors, and shape the narratives surrounding elections, even when the numbers are completely made up. asserted
numbers → examine → elections
McMorrow also discusses the broader problems plaguing American politics, from scam PACs to the need for greater transparency and accountability. asserted
McMorrow → discuss → transparency
Plus, McMorrow weighs in on the attacks against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, including Islamophobic campaign ads and the death threats against women running for state office. asserted
McMorrow → weigh → office
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