GoKawiilis the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.
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Everything is gambling now: the latest news on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi
According to a Wall Street Journal investigation, Polymarket has been paying people to film themselves placing fake bets and celebrating fake wins on social media. WSJ identified over 1,100 deceptive clips and talked to creators who, despite not stating as such in their videos, confirmed the company paid them to create the clips.
The videos posted on social media look legit at first, but there are subtle clues that betray them as fraudulent. For instance, when examined closely, one clip shows someone visiting “poiymarket.com” rather than polymarket.com. According to the Journal’s investigation, none of the bets placed in the over 1,100 videos it reviewed were real. In 118 videos, the creators were shown reacting to winning bets totaling almost $900,000. But in reality, those bets would have lost $166,000.
Since the Journal started asking questions, many creators have scrubbed the videos from their accounts, and Polymarket has taken down sites like “poiymarket” which were used as part of the ploy.