Wall Street Journal report claims Polymarket used fake wagers in creator promotions

Polymarket has faced allegations that it paid social media creators to promote fake bets and fabricated winnings through replica versions of its prediction market platform, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.

The Wall Street Journal reported that it reviewed 1,105 videos posted by 10 creators between December 2025 and mid-May and found that about 70% featured wagers that were not real. The publication said the videos displayed roughly $1.9 million in fake bets and that Polymarket created dummy versions of its website for the campaign.

One video posted in January by college student George Makihara showed what appeared to be a $100,000 profit from a wager that U.S. President Donald Trump would say “McDonald’s” during the month. 

The Journal reported that the clip used footage of Trump speaking the word two months before the bet’s resolution period. More than 50 real Polymarket users reportedly placed the same wager in January and lost.

The report said Polymarket built imitation sites for promotional videos, including one hosted at “poiymarket.com,” a domain designed to resemble the company’s official website. Across 118 videos reviewed by the newspaper, creators celebrated nearly $900,000 in winnings that the Journal said did not exist. 

These positions would have generated more than $166,000 in losses if they had been placed in live markets.

Journal details creator payment program

The Journal reported that creators received about $2,000 to $3,000 per month and were instructed not to disclose the arrangement. Some creators later added “@polymarket partner” to their social media biographies after the newspaper contacted them for comment.

The publication said Polymarket worked with marketing contractor Virality, which managed a network of content creators known as “clippers.” Virality reportedly paid participants only if at least 60% of their audience came from the U.S. Analytics firm Tubular estimated that the videos generated more than 140 million views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.

The campaign targeted American users despite restrictions that have prevented Polymarket from offering its primary prediction market platform to U.S. residents since a 2022 settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Americans can still access the platform through virtual private networks.

In a statement cited by the Journal, Polymarket said it is “committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets” and plans to conduct a comprehensive review of its promotional content.

The findings arrived weeks after Politico reported that Polymarket Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber used a personal PayPal account to compensate creators who posted Polymarket-related content on X without labeling the posts as advertisements. Politico reported on June 5 that Modabber sent at least $350,000 to creators and influencers, while the account distributed more than $2.5 million to over 800 recipients.

The Journal also reported that streamer Adin Ross has a multimillion-dollar partnership with Polymarket. The newspaper said the company paid content creators to promote at least 19 videos discussing how traders could profit from inside information. Polymarket told the Journal that its rules prohibit trading based on stolen or confidential information.

The report comes as Polymarket seeks to expand its business and restore access to the U.S. market. The company recently introduced prediction markets tied to private-company valuations and initial public offerings.

Regulatory pressure expands

Meanwhile, Polymarket has also come under legal scrutiny in recent weeks. As previously reported by crypto.news, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed lawsuits on June 18 against Polymarket, Kalshi and related partners, alleging that they offered unlicensed sports betting products in the state. 

Polymarket has argued that its contracts fall under federal commodities regulation rather than state gambling laws.

Questions about activity on the platform have also extended beyond marketing practices. On-chain tracker Lookonchain reported on June 21 that three Polymarket wallets generated a combined $24.25 million from World Cup prediction markets and later transferred funds through the same Binance deposit address. 

Lookonchain said the wallet activity appeared consistent with a suspected insider trader, although the claim remained unconfirmed by Polymarket and Binance.