Polymarket paid creators to post fake winning videos on dummy sites, WSJ finds
A Wall Street Journal investigation published Sunday found that Polymarket created dummy websites mirroring its real platform and paid scores of offshore creators to post simulated trading videos showing fake wins. The creators pretended to win thousands of dollars on the copycat sites, which were designed to appear nearly identical to Polymarket's actual platform. The videos circulated on social media and made it appear that users were getting rich on the prediction market platform, though none of the gains were real. The report raises questions about Polymarket's marketing practices at a time when the platform operates in the US under CFTC designation following its 2025 acquisition of licensed exchange QCEX.
The CFTC now faces pressure to treat Polymarket's paid-influencer program as a market-integrity risk, just as the agency is already scrutinizing whether Kalshi's similar affiliate model distorts election-contract prices. Any finding that dummy-site promotions manipulated user flows could force both platforms to restructure or abandon creator-driven acquisition.
Polymarket now joins Kalshi in a regulatory spotlight around paid influencer content, after both platforms were forced to retract posts questioning the integrity of the LA election just days earlier.