Key facts
- Polymarket allegedly paid online creators to post videos featuring lucrative, but fake, bets.
- The videos were filmed on near-perfect copies of the Polymarket website.
- Creators were reportedly instructed not to disclose they were paid by Polymarket.
- A marketing contractor deployed a "social-media army" to amplify these videos.
- Polymarket plans to conduct an audit of its promotional content.
Polymarket has reportedly been paying online creators to post deceptive videos that depict them making lucrative bets on the prediction market, according to a new investigation by The Wall Street Journal. The WSJ analyzed over 1,100 videos about Polymarket and reviewed instructional materials provided to creators. Many of these videos were allegedly filmed on "near-perfect copies" of the Polymarket website, featuring trades and winnings that were not real. These creator videos were then amplified by a "social-media army" deployed by a marketing contractor. The company also reportedly told creators not to specify that they had been paid by Polymarket, though creators began adding "@polymarket partner" to their bios after journalists started inquiring. Razeen Khan, a college student and creator who worked with Polymarket until March, compared the practice to commercials that make fast food appear more appealing than it is in reality, stating, "We’re depicting what actually happens." Polymarket responded by saying it is "committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets" and plans to conduct an audit of its promotional content.