{
  "id": 7493270,
  "title": "Election polls can inform voters — or become political weapons",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/election-polls-can-inform-voters-or-become-political-weapons",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T06:40:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "IOL",
    "slug": "iol",
    "url": "https://iol.co.za/sunday-tribune/opinion/2026-09-15-election-polls-can-inform-voters-or-become-political-weapons/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "As South Africa heads towards the 2026 local government elections, opinion polls will increasingly shape political narratives. But polls are measurements, not predictions, and their value depends on methodology, transparency and how their findings are interpreted by parties and the media.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "Election polls can inform voters — or become political weapons",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/election-polls-can-inform-voters-or-become-political-weapons",
        "published": "2026-09-13T04:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Local Sweden",
        "title": "SWEDISH ELECTION: Follow The Local as voters cast their ballot on Election Day",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/swedish-election-follow-the-local-as-voters-cast-their-ballot-on",
        "published": "2026-09-13T06:00:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}