SeaWorld's Apparent Attempt to Rig Opinion Poll Backfires
What’s a surefire way to inspire people to seek out an opinion poll just to cast their negative votes against your organization? Get caught trying to rig said poll in your favor.
On December 31, the Orlando Business Journal posted a reader poll that asked, “Has CNN’s Blackfish documentary changed your perception of SeaWorld?” By Thursday, two days into the poll, the paper reported that a surprisingly overwhelming 99% of respondents said “no,” their opinion of the park had not been tarnished.
Sure, it makes sense that locals might look more favorably upon their own park than the wider public might, but 99% seems just a little too good to be true, doesn’t it? That’s because it was.
After the paper did a little digging, it found that more than half of the votes had been cast from a single IP address: SeaWorld.com.
After this bit of unflattering information came to light, SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck tried...
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