One of the world’s most respected polling companies has been accused of trying to influence a controversial independence referendum in Iraq last year.
According to evidence provided by whistleblowers to the paper, YouGov created videos for a Facebook page targeting voters in the disputed oil-rich region of Kirkuk, playing on fears about security, criticising the Iraqi military and praising the Kurdish armed forces, known as the Peshmerga.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
An example of “astroturfing”, when a PR campaign is presented as being disconnected from the organisation funding it, it comes in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which voters were targeted with Facebook content in an effort to influence opinions ahead of elections.
The revelations will raise further questions about the impartiality and influence of polling firms, who have recently come under fire from UK MPs for selling poll results to hedge funds ahead of the Brexit referendum, potentially allowing the firms to make million betting against the pound.
Stefan Kaszubowski, global head of custom research at YouGov, denied any wrongdoing and defended the firm’s “high level of accuracy and objectivity in polling and consultancy”.
Nonetheless, YouGov’s work on the Kurdish campaign for independence also “raises questions” for Nadhim Zahawi, one of the company’s founders and the current parliamentary under secretary of state for children and families, says the Telegraph.
At the time YouGov was working on the Kurdish independence campaign, the MP for Stratford-upon-Avon still owned shares in the polling firm. He also received a a monthly salary of almost £30,000 from Gulf Keystone Petroleum, an oil and gas company that is focused on the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
-
Roofman: a ‘stranger than fiction’ taleThe Week Recommends Channing Tatum walks ‘effortlessly’ between comedy and tragedy
-
Political cartoons for October 23Cartoons Thursday’s political cartoons include Mike Johnson's pumpkin patch, great news for crypto scammers, and a suspicious white sheet
-
The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in RussiaThe Explainer Ukraine reportedly deployed the long-range British missiles this week, following a tense meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talksspeed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
