Media Matters reports:
Users of the far-right message board 4chan organized to rig a Drudge Report online poll following the July 30 Democratic presidential debate. Multiple right-wing outlets touted the results. 4chan users similarly rigged previous post-debate Drudge polls.
After the first night of the CNN debate, users on 4chan’s “/pol/” message board shared the poll and urged others to vote for author and presidential candidate Marianne Williamson.
Breitbart touted it in a headline. Media Research Center claimed the poll showed that “the public has spoken,” and organization vice president Dan Gainor wrote an op-ed on FoxNews.com citing the poll as proof of Williamson’s supposed post-debate rise. Gainor’s op-ed even led FoxNews.com.
4chan tolls gamed Drudge’s poll after the first debates in favor of far longshots Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang.