Polymarket paid for fake viral videos showing big wins, WSJ investigation finds
A Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that Polymarket paid creators to film fake betting wins on social media, with over 1,100 deceptive clips identified.
Polymarket, a prediction market platform, has come under scrutiny after a Wall Street Journal investigation found that the company paid individuals to create fake social media videos showing large betting wins.
The investigation identified over 1,100 deceptive clips. While the videos initially appear genuine, subtle clues reveal their fraudulent nature. For example, one clip shows a person visiting “poiymarket.com” instead of the real polymarket.com.
According to the WSJ, none of the bets shown in the over 1,100 clips were real. In 118 videos, creators were shown reacting to winning bets totaling nearly $900,000, but in reality, those bets would have lost $166,000.
Since the investigation began, many creators have removed the videos from their accounts, and Polymarket has taken down sites like “poiymarket” that were used in the scheme.
