Polymarket accused of paying for fake winning videos on imitation websites
A ResetEra thread and Reddit post amplify a Wall Street Journal report alleging Polymarket paid people to post videos of fake winnings generated on imitation websites. The scheme reportedly used lookalike domains such as poiymarket.com, substituting a capital i for the lowercase l in Polymarket, so identical-appearing trades would actually lose money on the real platform. The ResetEra poster quotes other publications because they lack a WSJ subscription. The Reddit post contains no additional reporting, evidence, or comment from Polymarket. Both social-media discussions circulate the accusation that Polymarket commissioned the fabricated winning videos to mislead prospective users about the platform's profitability.
Polymarket must now explain to the CFTC why it created or funded mimic sites that deceived prospective users. A finding that the scheme was deliberate market manipulation threatens the exchange designation it acquired in 2025.
Joins a secret influencer campaign that the WSJ found channeled $1.9 million in fake bets to creators, forming a pattern of manipulated public perception that regulators are already weighing against Polymarket's CFTC exchange status.