A recent investigation by The Wall Street Journal found that the prediction market Polymarket paid social media creators and influencers to promote $1.9 million in fake positions as part of its marketing strategy to lure American users to the platform.
To fool viewers, Polymarket built copies of its website with domain names like "poiymarket.com," where paid promoters could create ads of fabricated trades that the company's marketing partner then disseminated. Promoters were selected based on the size of their U.S. audience, with Polymarket providing "bullet-point guidance" on content, according to the Journal.
