The Wall Street Journal reviewed 1,105 videos along with guidance given to creators for crafting their posts.
In case you needed another reason to be wary of those videos showing people winning big on Polymarket, an investigation by The Wall Street Journal has found that the company is paying social media creators to post misleading content promoting the prediction market. Of the 1,105 TikTok videos the publication reviewed, 778 appeared to show someone placing a bet — but a closer look reportedly revealed that none of the latter featured the actual Polymarket website, instead using dummy sites made to look like the real thing.
For more than half of the videos that appeared to show winning bets, those bets would in reality have been losses, The Wall Street Journal reports. The publication spoke to creators who worked with Polymarket and viewed materials they say they were given to ensure their videos were convincing and engaging. In addition, Polymarket reportedly also enlisted a “social-media army” to repost these videos and help them go viral.
Polymarket has been making headlines this year as governments grapple with how to regulate prediction markets. Minnesota last month became the first US state to ban them. Other states have tried to do the same, but multiple lawsuits have challenged these efforts. Meanwhile, Spain blocked Polymarket and another prediction market, Kalshi, in May as it figures out whether they violate the country’s gambling law.