The Trial Gripping the Internet

Election polls touted by LA Mayor Karen Bass and cited in the media were completely made up, a report from The Guardian reveals.

The person behind this scheme was 21-year-old recent college grad Rahil Prakash. He came clean in an interview with The Guardian, claiming it was a social experiment. “I wanted to see if fake polls could really penetrate the ecosystem that easily,” he told The Guardian. He published them under the banner of the fictional firm “Median Strategies.” One of his polls made waves.

It showed LA Mayor Karen Bass leading in the general election by 12 percentage points. Karen Bass’ campaign posted the poll to tout its allegedly growing lead. The California Post, a sister publication to the New York Post, cited the poll, as well. On Polymarket, the line moved in Karen Bass’ favor by two cents; roughly twenty separate accounts traded thousands of contracts within six minutes of Bass’ tweet going out.

In addition to the LA mayoral race, Median Strategies published fake polls on the Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor – showing Francesca Hong +23 – and the Nevada gubernatorial race, though neither one made waves.

Chris Wilson, a veteran Republican pollster, claims the fake polling problem is bigger than Median Strategies. As reported by the AP, he said, “It’s never been easier to make invented numbers look legitimate, and campaigns and outside groups have every incentive to amplify anything favorable before anyone verifies it.”

With bettors trading billions on Polymarket and Kalshi, the financial incentives to fabricate polling results are greater than ever. Although, in fairness to Median Strategies, the non-fake polls haven’t been much better.

–Max Towey

Lindsay Clancy’s defense rested its case on Friday – the 18th day of testimony in a murder trial that has gripped the nation.

Clancy, 36, is facing three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 strangulation deaths of her children – Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months – at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She has pleaded not guilty, but her lawyers do not dispute that she killed the children.

Instead, Clancy’s lawyers argued that Clancy lacked criminal responsibility – the Massachusetts version of an insanity defense – due to her suffering from postpartum psychosis, an extreme mental illness and medical emergency which they argue went untreated. Her defense also cited bipolar disorder and overmedication as factors in the crime. Her attorney called 10 witnesses over five days, closing with a forensic psychiatrist who told jurors that Clancy was listening to a hallucination and could not stop herself from following it.

A psychologist and a hospital chaplain both testified that Clancy described a male voice telling her that she had to kill her children, then herself, and that none of them would be safe unless she obeyed. Her lawyers say she repeatedly sought treatment in the months before the killings, seeing multiple providers and receiving medication prescriptions from at least three of them between September 2022 and January 2023. They also say she checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for five days in January 2023 and was discharged roughly two weeks before the killing.

Prosecutors, however, paint a different picture.

They described Clancy as a controlling mother who could no longer manage her life or her children, and allege she sent her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, out for takeout and medicine, strangled the children, cut her wrists and neck, then jumped from a second-story window, which left her paralyzed. Prosecutors called on a different forensic psychiatrist, who said Clancy had suffered from a major depressive episode and anxiety, but knew that what she was doing was wrong.

Clancy’s family members testified that her mental state deteriorated after Callan’s birth. Clancy’s mother, Paula Musgrove, said Clancy lost weight and became paranoid, telling her and Patrick in December 2022 that “she had thoughts of harming the children.” Her former mother-in-law said, “She was begging for help.”

The case has become a fixation on social media, with over 160,000 TikTok videos posted about the trial, as many users appeared to side with the defense. Hundreds of women in pink gathered outside the courthouse last Thursday holding signs in support of Clancy. The support has drawn a backlash of its own, as critics say the attention on Clancy’s suffering has shifted the focus away from the deaths of the three children.

Closing arguments are expected on Tuesday, and the case should reach the jury next week. A conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole. A finding of no criminal responsibility would keep Clancy committed to a state psychiatric hospital – she’s been held at Tewksbury Hospital since May 2023 – with periodic reviews to determine if she can be released.

–Max Hudgins

A hacker has leaked Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA 6) footage for six straight days, setting the internet ablaze.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is the third-most popular video game in history, behind Tetris and Minecraft. Its successor – GTA 6 – has already generated almost $500M in pre-orders and is expected to more than triple GTA 5’s first-week sales. It is arguably the most anticipated video game in history.

The leaker – an online persona known as “CyberLeek” – has released new footage from the game for six consecutive days, embedding advertisements for a meme coin of the same name in the leaks. The coin has surged more than 1,000% since the leaks began.

CyberLeek also posted a manifesto framing the leaks as a protest against the developer’s plans for a digital-only release. Many fans are upset that Rockstar Games won’t sell physical copies, meaning buyers won’t be able to resell or lend the game.

Rockstar’s parent company has subpoenaed Microsoft, Discord, and X in an effort to uncover the hacker’s identity.

As of print, it remains unclear how CyberLeek gained access to the game. Analysts do not expect the leaks to materially affect sales. Rockstar plans to release an extended-look GTA 6 trailer later this week – an announcement that was scheduled before the leaks began.

The game is set for a November 19 release.

–Billy Carney

The Roca Mag

Here’s Issue 5 of the Roca Mag.

Since I (Roca Co-founder Max Frost) was a kid, one of my greatest fears was being wrongfully convicted of a crime. I mean, what could be worse? Particularly when the crime is horrific, and the punishment severe? How would that feel?

Now, you can find out. In our cover story, Max Towey interviews Archie Williams, who spent 36 years in Louisiana’s most notorious prison for a crime he did not commit. It’s powerful. Read it here.

Nearby, I ask: Why does the leftist streamer Hasan Piker get so much media attention, when there’s another, more popular streamer with very different politics, who has never gotten any? I break it down – and interview that other streamer – in my article, Why the Media Loves Hasan Piker.

Beneath that, Max Hudgins answers another pressing question: Why do celebrities suck now? Why do they no longer have the aura that stars of the past – from Muhammad Ali to Marlon Brando and Paul Newman – once had? Read Why Celebrities Suck to find out.

And if you want some more on-the-ground reporting, we’ve got it: Stefano Montali reports from one of Vermont’s disappearing dairy farms. Why’re the farms going away? He has the answer.

Lastly, our sportswriter Ryan Hinske has a report from a dirt racing track in Kansas City. Like the dairy farms, these old-time local competitions are going away. He explains why right here.

Thanks for reading, we hope you enjoy. Our goal is to make the Roca Mag the best bundle of weekly reporting you can get anywhere. If you have thoughts on any of the stories, let us know here or in the comments!

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