Research shows polymarket influencers were faking their way to get views

An influencer who makes thousands of dollars on polymarket bets and flaunts it at TikTok’s Sponsored Con? They were fabricating it.

A recent investigation by the Wall Street Journal found that Polymarket, a prediction market consulted by Donald Trump Jr., paid online creators to post deceptive ads that implied they had won big on the platform, but actually featured dummy sites and losing bets.

The publication reviewed more than 1,000 TikTok videos by 10 creators promoting the company. The magazine also interviewed influencers who were paid to include promotional materials for companies in their videos. According to their findings, half of the videos contained footage of unprofitable bets while discussing winning payouts, and more than half showed platforms that were not Polymarket at all.

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In total, the creators sold approximately $900,000 in fake winnings to their followers, but the magazine determined that the creators lost more than $166,000 on the same bets. The company allegedly paid advertising fees to a recruitment agency and a network of social media accounts to spread the ads.

Shortly after the findings were released, Polymarket announced it would launch an internal investigation to audit its advertising department.

The company told CBS News, “As the world’s leading prediction market, we are committed to maintaining an accurate, fair and transparent marketplace. We are part of a rapidly growing industry and are constantly evaluating ways to improve the way we engage with and earn the trust of our audiences. As part of that effort, we conduct comprehensive audits to ensure active promotional content complies with our standards and applicable regulatory and legal disclosure requirements.”

Prediction markets such as Polymarket and competitor Kalshi actively promote their platforms to the general public, with celebrity ambassadors like Timothée Chalamet and World Cup stars like Lionel Messi spearheading massive advertising campaigns.