It’s one of those New York Times headlines that, to put it charitably, hasn’t aged well.
The authors of this article spend 1,000 words or so reassuring Times readers (and perhaps themselves) five days before the election that the polls weren’t as bad as they looked for Vice President Harris. As responsible journalists are wont to do, they sought comment for their story from “both sides” of the political spectrum, quoting Democratic pollsters and a “longtime Republican strategist” who, the authors probably didn’t have space to mention, co-founded the anti-Trump Lincoln Project. This strategist was granted the article’s takeaway line: “The goal is to set the predicate for the race’s aftermath so you can challenge the result.”
In other words, this “news” article leaves the Times reader thinking that questionable polls are being used by bad actors on social media to lay the groundwork for the next January 6—a day that, for the American Left, must live in infamy.
Impact Fund members know the Times’ game, which is standard for mainstream media, even if it doesn’t blow up in their face as quickly as this particular article did. We don’t highlight it here to “spike the football.” Well, perhaps a little Lambeau Leap. What’s more important is highlighting the fact that Impact Fund donors are right now helping to break the Left’s dominance in media and polls through support of the RealClear Foundation.
As a matter of fact, RealClearPolitics’ “scarlet-dominated Electoral College map” was singled out in the Times article as typical of the problem despite the fact that RealClear’s polling average has been among the most trustworthy for the last several election cycles. That relevant part of the story also didn’t make it into the article, and if trends hold, the Times will not learn from their errors.
Which is why the Bradley Impact Fund is so committed to informing American citizens. RealClear Foundation’s inconveniently accurate polling apparatus isn’t the only reason the keepers of The Narrative are after them. Just as problematic is RealClear’s gift for throwing a rock through the Overton Window of acceptable opinion by using their massive reach to highlight news and commentary that the Left has declared off-limits. That they do so in a conspicuously nonpartisan way (RealClear’s pages always present opposing perspectives on topics ranging from politics to science to defense to religion) is why they’re seen as such a threat to the censorship industry today.
Censorship industry—isn’t that a bit dramatic? Perhaps it is, but we’re not sure how else to refer to, as RealClear tells it, a
complex of federal agencies, NGOs, and Big Tech [that] has targeted RCP. Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a State Department supported NGO, labeled RCP as one of the top-ten highest disinformation risks in the country and put us on an advertising blacklist. Google regularly demonetizes articles, videos, and links on RCP. Meanwhile, news outlets that have spread actual disinformation – e.g., Russia-collusion hoax, Steele Dossier, Hunter Biden laptop as Russian propaganda, etc. – are on an advertising whitelist.
That’s what we’re up against, and it’s why the Impact Fund’s partnership with RealClear Foundation is so important. Its investigative reporting, policy discussions, and polling averages elevate a broad range of expert opinions, trusting that more and better-informed free speech provides a better-informed citizenry that can make better decisions. One of its initiatives, however, will prove increasingly important in the next few years: its Polling Accountability Initiative.
After the last few election cycles, Americans have developed a deep cynicism with regard to polls. Many have lost all faith in the practice, while others seem offended that anyone would doubt the wisdom of the experts, despite their faltering track record. Now, thanks to RealClear Foundation, someone is finally tracking their success in predicting real election outcomes, and if they err, in which direction they err. We’ll let you guess which direction that is, but we will also invite you to see for yourself, and to continue standing with RealClear Foundation as its dogged commitment to truth and objectivity continue to attract the attention of censors worldwide.
