Taking their cues from President Donald Trump, election deniers are now claiming that polls are fake 'psyops' aimed at depressing conservative turnout. The Heritage Foundation’s Kevin Roberts even suggested that midterm election polling is a 'depressant' designed to lower conservative engagement.

This latest tactic comes in the wake of Trump's historic low approval ratings and Democrats leading in Senate races across states that Trump won in 2024. As a result, Republicans are pouring money into races they once thought safe. Trump himself has dismissed polls 39 times since returning to the White House, most recently calling them 'demoralization operations'.

Figures like Steve Bannon and Seth Keshel have echoed Trump's claims, branding the negative polls as 'psyops,' despite evidence that these low numbers reflect reality. 'Polls are fake,' declared Julie Donuts, a prominent influencer with 220,000 followers, pointing to a map from 2016 to support her claim.

The Maryland Election Integrity Group even suggested that polling has been skewed to favor Democrats, further fueling the narrative. Some deniers have gone so far as to claim they have never been 'polled,' with one influencer, Gunther Eagleman, declaring polls are fake to sway votes. However, his own posts show he likes polls when they are favorable towards Trump.