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NewsWFLA News Channel 8August 21, 2026Hillsborough

FiftyPlusOne bans The Public Sentiment Institute for undisclosed campaign funding and data manipulation

Polling tracker FiftyPlusOne has permanently banned The Public Sentiment Institute (TPSI) after discovering the firm fabricated survey data and failed to disclose that James Fishback’s gubernatorial campaign funded the poll. Additionally, FiftyPlusOne suspended Patriot Polling for similar failures to disclose campaign sponsorship, marking all existing data from both firms as partisan.

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Why It Matters

The exclusion of these firms from major s impacts how voters and media perceive candidate standing in Florida's Republican gubernatorial primary, as the firms were found to have altered data to favor a paying client.

Key Facts

  • FiftyPlusOne permanently banned The Public Sentiment Institute (TPSI) from its polling tracker.
  • TPSI failed to disclose that James Fishback’s campaign funded their Florida gubernatorial primary poll.
  • TPSI admitted to using an 'experimental layer' to adjust respondent data to align with their expectations of the race.
  • The adjustment moved James Fishback to second place in the poll and Jay Collins to third.
  • FiftyPlusOne suspended Patriot Polling for failing to disclose campaign sponsorship.
  • All existing data from TPSI and Patriot Polling in the FiftyPlusOne database is now marked as 'partisan'.
  • Byron Donalds won the Florida GOP gubernatorial primary on Tuesday.
  • TPSI denies 'deliberate data falsification', characterizing the issue as a methodological error.
  • VoteHub had already excluded TPSI data from its averages for several months prior to this announcement.

Who's Mentioned

organizationPatriot Polling“A polling firm suspended for failing to disclose campaign sponsorship.”personJames Fishback“A GOP candidate in the Florida gubernatorial race who funded polling.”personByron Donalds“Rep. (R-Fla.) who won the GOP primary.”organizationThe Public Sentiment Institute“A polling firm accused of data manipulation and non-disclosure.”organizationFiftyPlusOne“A polling tracker that monitors and aggregates survey data.”personJay Collins“Florida Lt. Gov whose poll numbers were allegedly manipulated.”personAustin Park“Co-founder and head of research at VoteHub.”organizationMedian Strategies“A firm that previously admitted to spreading false polling data.”