In fact I remember 2 years ago when a dozen firms came out of the woodwork to gunk the averages rightward. I think it's deliberate and meant to demoralize and poison other pollsters' assumptions

They just did the exact same thing. There was a huge influx last week of very right leaning polls flooding the zone with polls saying Trump is stomping. Many republicans vote for the "winning side" which is why they cannot accept the outcome of the last election.