A Wall Street Journal investigation says prediction-market platform Polymarket paid social media creators, mostly college-aged, to stage fake bets and fake winnings in videos that were later viewed millions of times in the United States. The creators were told to hide that they were paid, and the company used near-perfect copies of its site, including a misspelled URL, to make the clips look real.
One example cited was student George McIahara, whose January video showed a supposed $100,000 win on a bet that President Donald Trump would say “McDonald’s.” The report says that was part of 145 simulated bets totaling $410,000, while more than 50 real users made the same wager on Polymarket’s official site and all lost. Another creator, Heian Nguyen, posted a fake $60,000 win after betting that Trump would say “Olympics,” then deleted the video after reporters contacted her.
To spread the content, Polymarket hired Virality, a marketing firm that managed a network of distributors reposting the clips through bogus accounts until one took off. The campaign generated more than 140 million views on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Creators used company-supplied text templates, and about a quarter of the videos included the phrase “free money.”
The campaign targeted Americans even though Polymarket has been barred from offering its main crypto platform in the U.S. since a 2022 settlement. Distributors were paid only if at least 60% of their audience was in the U.S., including users accessing the site through VPNs. Creators said they earned $2,000 to $3,000 a month, and only after the investigation began did they add “Polymarket partner” labels. The report also says Polymarket and Virality promoted clips encouraging insider trading, including videos by influencer Adin Ross, and found at least 19 promoted videos discussing insider tips or market manipulation. Polymarket said it bans illegal information-based trading and is reviewing its promotional content, while the CFTC said prediction markets should be brought back under U.S. oversight.
