Polymarket Accused of Paying Creators to Post Deceptive Betting Videos

Polymarket has been paying online creators to post deceptive videos that show them making lucrative bets on the prediction market, according to a new investigation in the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ said that it analyzed 1,100 videos about Polymarket and also viewed instructional materials that the company provided to creators. Many of those videos were reportedly filmed on “near-perfect copies” of the Polymarket website, while featuring trades and winnings that were not real.

The creator videos were then amplified by a “social-media army” deployed by a marketing contractor. The WSJ said the company also told those creators not to specify that they’d been paid by Polymarket, although the creators started adding “@polymarket partner” to their bios after journalists began asking questions. Razeen Khan, a college student and creator who worked with Polymarket until March, compared the practice to commercials that make fast food look more appealing than it is in real life: “We’re depicting what actually happens.” Polymarket said it is “committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets” and plans to conduct an audit of its promotional content.

The practice of paying creators to post deceptive content raises concerns about the integrity of online advertising and the potential for misleading consumers. For prediction markets like Polymarket, which rely on trust and transparency to function effectively, such tactics can erode confidence and undermine the validity of the platform. As regulatory scrutiny of the crypto and fintech industries intensifies, Polymarket's response to this investigation will be closely watched.

The company's commitment to conducting an audit of its promotional content is a step in the right direction, but it remains to be seen whether this will be enough to restore trust with users and regulators. Ultimately, this incident highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in online advertising, particularly when it comes to financial products and services.