Rasmussen Reports, a right-wing polling firm that was once regularly cited by former President Donald Trump because it showed his approval numbers higher than in more traditional polls, seems to have gone completely off the rails.
In an editorial published in the Los Angeles Times, Michael Hiltzik notes that Rasmussen in recent months has gone far beyond its traditional partisan leanings and has gone all-in on anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and has been using its once-semi-reputable name as a pollster to push pseudo-scientific claims.
"Earlier this month, Rasmussen tweeted the results of polls it conducted in June 2023 and last month, claiming to find that 1 in 5 Americans believe they know someone who died from a COVID vaccine," writes Hiltzik.
"There are many reasons to disregard any such poll asking people what they think about a scientifically validated fact — in this case, that the record shows overwhelmingly that the COVID vaccines widely used in the U.S. are safe and effective."
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Even more troubling than this, he contends, was the message on social media that Rasmussen used to promote its poll results.
"China lied," read a tweet from the pollster. "Fauci lied. People died.”
“The government take over of medicine was as deadly as always predicted," read another.
Hiltzik also chides Rasmussen for couching its "balderdash" in just enough "weasel words" to offer plausible deniability should critics accuse it of going full Alex Jones.
"In its tweet stating that, 'If the numbers implied by our COVID polling are correct, the vaccines killed more people worldwide than Jews killed in the Holocaust,' for instance, the word 'if' carries a lot of baggage — not that its invocation of the Holocaust is defensible under the circumstances," he writes.
"Similarly, its tweet, 'China lied. Fauci lied. People died' refers to a question on its June 23 poll about COVID, in which it asks respondents to agree or disagree with that phrase. (This is known as 'JAQing,' for 'just asking questions.')"
