Polymarket, a prediction market platform, paid dozens of social media creators, many of them college-aged, to produce videos showcasing fake bets and fabricated winnings to attract new users. A Wall Street Journal investigation, analyzing over 1,100 videos, revealed that these creators used near-perfect copies of Polymarket's website to simulate trades, not actual ones. For instance, George Makihara, a college student, posted videos appearing to win $100,000 on a single bet and nearly $410,000 across 145 bets between January and mid-May, none of which were real. In reality, all accounts that made the 'McDonald's' bet Makihara showcased actually lost.
Polymarket instructed creators not to disclose their paid partnerships and provided bullet-point guidance on what to say, often encouraging them to refer to winnings as "free money." The company reportedly paid creators $2,000 to $3,000 per month. A marketing contractor, Virality, was employed by Polymarket to manage the campaign, which aimed to target U.S. users, despite the crypto platform being banned in the U.S. since 2022. The campaign instructed creators to only get paid if at least 60% of their audience was in the U.S. and racked up over 140 million views on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Analysis showed that in 70% of the videos, creators placed fake bets totaling $1.9 million. Additionally, 118 videos depicted creators reacting to outdated footage or fake headlines, showing them winning almost $900,000 that would have actually resulted in losses exceeding $166,000. These practices raise concerns about misleading advertising and the lack of transparency regarding paid promotions on social media platforms.
