Polymarket paid digital content creators to film fictitious wagers and profit displays, a revelation disclosed by the Wall Street Journal on June 21 2026.
Compensation and Content Production
According to the WSJ report, Polymarket’s marketing agency offered creators between $2,000 and $3,000 per month for each fabricated video. Over 1,105 videos were produced, showcasing approximately $1.9 million in bogus wagers and attracting more than 140 million combined views across social platforms.
Distribution Strategy and Transparency Issues
Polymarket instructed the creators to conceal their paid relationship, directing them to omit any disclosure in their profiles until journalists began probing the scheme. The agency then amplified the videos through coordinated social‑media networks, creating a viral illusion of active betting on the Polymarket prediction‑market platform.
Regulators may view the concealment of sponsorship as a breach of advertising‑transparency rules that protect investors and the broader crypto community. The episode underscores how blockchain‑based prediction markets can be vulnerable to deceptive promotional tactics that mislead participants.