So you’re telling me Polymarket
according to the Wall Street Journal investigation
- reviewed 1,105 promotional videos
- generated more than 140M views
- paid creators $2,000–$3,000 per month
- showed $1.9M worth of bets on screen
what allegedly happened
- many of the bets were never actually placed
- creators used demo environments instead of the real platform
- some videos were recorded on a fake lookalike site
“poiymarketcom”
fake results
- 118 videos showed profits that allegedly never existed
- $900,000 in winnings were displayed
one creator appeared to win $100,000
according to WSJ the trade wasn’t real
the problem
- real users copied some of these trades
- those same positions would’ve lost more than $166,000
- while the videos showed massive gains
additional allegations
- creators were allegedly encouraged to make content more exciting
- clips were amplified through networks of repost accounts
- campaigns reportedly focused on US audiences
- despite Polymarket restricting US users
Polymarket’s response
- denies wrongdoing
- says markets remain accurate, fair and transparent
- announced a full audit of promotional content