Polymarket's viral wins were staged, investigation finds
A Wall Street Journal investigation found Polymarket paid social-media creators to film fake bets on cloned dummy sites as part of a promotional push, identifying 145 fake bets totaling about $1.9 million and 118 videos reacting to outdated footage that would have yielded losses; the campaign generated hundreds of millions of views, with creators instructed to avoid disclosing paid promotion. Polymarket’s US platform has been blocked since 2022, and the company says it’s conducting a comprehensive audit of promotional content and pursuing a limited US offering via a CFTC-regulated app.
