"Give-and-take under the table": What the public doesn't know about polling institutes

Election polls are presented as an objective snapshot, clean data coming from professional and independent research institutes. However, behind the dry numbers, a more complex story often hides. The same institutes that conduct polls published in news channels work in parallel—sometimes during the very same period—with parties and politicians as strategic consultants or internal pollsters. This dual connection almost never reaches the viewer at home.

The result is that the public consumes information without knowing that its producer may simultaneously be a player in the arena it is surveying. This does not necessarily testify to corruption or intentional data manipulation, but it is a potential conflict of interest that deserves to be disclosed.

A Small Market and Blurred Lines

In Israel, the world of political consulting and the world of polling have never been far apart. It is a relatively small market where the number of specialists is limited, and many have moved between seemingly opposing roles: from a faction spokesperson to a pollster published in the media. There is a lack of clear separation between those who advise politicians on how to "win" the battle for public opinion and those supposed to measure it neutrally.

The problem is that the public watching a poll on television almost never gets exposed to the full resume of the person who conducted it. The methodology and the institute's name are presented, but not the list of its clients, its political history, or the identity of the parties it advises in parallel. Thus, a person who was recently an integral part of a political mechanism can present themselves the next day as an objective party measuring opinion toward that same mechanism and its competitors.

Examples of Collaboration

• Maagar Mohot: According to its website, it works with the Likud while simultaneously working with Channel 13, Israel Hayom, and 103FM.

• Direct Polls: The company worked for Kan 11 while its head, Shlomo Filber, advised the New Right party.

• Midgam: The institute that conducts polls for News 12 was for a decade partially owned by Ron Dermer, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Everyone Works with Everyone"

This phenomenon is not a secret within the industry. "Everyone does it in the end. Everyone works with everyone," says Meir Ben Haim, an expert in research methods. Media sources confirm that in some cases, pollsters accommodate the parties they work with, providing small but significant adjustments. "These are give-and-take relationships under the table that simply no one admits to," one source claims.

Lack of Disclosure as an Ethical Flaw

Experts are divided on whether this is inherently wrong. Tomer Avital, founder of the Shkuf project, believes the conflict of interest harms public trust. "Whoever appears as a commentator must state that they provide a paid service," he says. Advocate Elad Man emphasizes that the lack of disclosure is a substantial ethical flaw, even if the data was not distorted. "Political affiliation does not prove a poll was biased, but it is essential information the public is entitled to receive."

Authorities attempted to address this. A decade ago, a committee led by Justice Dorit Beinisch recommended stricter transparency obligations. However, according to former minister Ophir Pines and Professor Karin Nahon, the recommendations were blocked for political reasons—following a direct order from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Experts argue that politicians find it convenient to leave this space unregulated.