A political poll that circulated earlier this month, which suggested Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass held a substantial lead over City Council member Nithya Raman in a hypothetical mayoral matchup, has been officially declared fake by the firm that released it. Median Strategies, the organization behind the survey, issued a statement on Monday confirming that the data was not legitimate.

The retraction comes after the poll gained attention for its surprising results, which placed the incumbent mayor well ahead of the council member. While the initial release of the poll created a brief stir in local political circles, the firm’s subsequent admission has effectively invalidated the findings. Median Strategies has announced that it is stopping all work related to the mayoral race following this incident.

It is important to note that the premise of the poll—a direct mayoral contest between Bass and Raman—does not reflect the current electoral calendar, as the two are not currently scheduled to face off in an upcoming election. The incident has raised questions about the integrity of the data provided by the firm and the potential for misinformation to influence public perception of local political dynamics. As of now, no further details have been provided by Median Strategies regarding how the fraudulent data was produced or why it was released to the public in the first place.