Editing Push poll (section)

{{Short description|Use of polling to spread misinformation}}
{{Political campaigning}}

A '''push poll''' is an [[interactive marketing]] technique, most commonly employed during [[political campaigning]], in which a person or organization attempts to manipulate or alter prospective voters' views under the guise of conducting an [[opinion poll]]. In a push poll, large numbers of voters are contacted with little effort made to collect and analyze their response data. Instead, the push poll is a form of [[telemarketing]]-based propaganda and rumor-mongering masquerading as an opinion poll. Push polls may rely on [[innuendo]], or information gleaned from [[opposition research]] on the political opponent of the interests behind the poll.

Generally, push polls are viewed as a form of [[negative campaigning]].<ref>[http://www.pollster.com/blogs/so_what_is_a_push_poll.php Pollster.com: So What *Is* A Push Poll?]</ref> Indeed, the term is commonly (and confusingly) used in a broader sense to refer to legitimate polls that aim to test negative political messages.<ref>Feld, K.G. (2000). "What are push polls, anyway?" ''Campaign & Elections'', 21(4): 62–63, 70. In: ''Winning Elections'' (R. A. Faucheux, editor), pp. 184–89. New York: M. Evans & Co. {{ISBN|1590770269}}.</ref> Future usage of the term will determine whether the strict or broad definition becomes the most favored, but in all such polls, the pollster asks [[leading question]]s or [[suggestive question]]s that "push" the interviewee toward adopting an unfavourable response toward the political candidate or issue in question.

Legislation in [[Australia]]'s [[Northern Territory]] defined push-polling as any activity conducted as part of a telephone call made, or a meeting held, during the election period for an election, that: (a) is, or appears to be, a survey (for example, a telephone opinion call or telemarketing call); and (b) is intended to influence an elector in deciding their vote.<ref name ="nterr">[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nt/consol_act/ea103/s271.html / Northern Territory Electoral Act, Section 271: Offence relating to push-polling.]</ref>

Push polling has been condemned by the [[American Association of Political Consultants]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theaapc.org/about/pushpolling/ |title=American Association of Political Consultants: About AAPC: Statement on Push Polling |access-date=2008-09-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080922091328/http://www.theaapc.org/about/pushpolling/ |archive-date=2008-09-22 }}</ref> and the [[American Association for Public Opinion Research]].<ref>[http://www.aapor.org/AAPOR_Statements_on_Push_Polls1.htm AAPOR | AAPOR Statement on "Push" Polls<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104200808/http://www.aapor.org/AAPOR_Statements_on_Push_Polls1.htm |date=2013-01-04 }}</ref>