Fake opinion polls galore, voters should discern fact from fiction- Deshapriya

By Leenah Wahab  
Former Chairman of the Election Commission, Mahinda Deshapriya said that the difference between genuine and fake opinion polls are difficult to distinguish and therefore voters should be cautious to discern fact from fiction.    

Making his remarks to Daily Mirror, he said opinion polls purportedly attributed to the European Union (EU) and in circulation on social media are against the rules and regulations governing the electoral process.   The EU released a statement saying it has not conducted election polls, and that the surveys disseminated are false. The Election Commission has further urged voters to be vigilant of misinformation and not be misled by doctored reports when making electoral decisions.   
“It’s a marketing campaign,’ Mr. Deshapriya said. “They don’t publish details of how they select people for these public opinion polls. The purpose of these counterfeit surveys is to increase their voter population. Promotion and demotion, they come up in votes while someone else goes down,” he said.   
He also said voter manipulation through misinformation risks sowing distrust and clouding truth in important socio-political matters. “It is difficult to distinguish between fake and genuine opinion polls and it is up to the general populace to discern fact from fiction.”