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The prediction market platform Polymarket has found itself at the center of a major scandal. It has been revealed that the company systematically paid content creators to produce staged videos showing fake bets and winnings. These clips were actively distributed on social media and used as promotional materials to attract new users.

My investigation shows that the scheme was large-scale: dozens of creators were involved, and the total number of suspicious videos exceeded 1,100. Content creators received monthly payments ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 — while being strictly forbidden to disclose their collaboration with the platform. Exact copies of the Polymarket website were used for filming to simulate real transactions.

How the scheme worked

A separate marketing agency handled the promotion of these clips. Between December and mid-May, 1,105 videos from 10 sponsored creators garnered over 140 million views. One such contributor — student George Makihara — published a video in January in which he allegedly won $100,000 on a bet that Donald Trump would say the word "McDonald’s." In reality, none of the 145 shown transactions totaling nearly $410,000 actually existed.

After the information became public, many creators rushed to delete the questionable videos. Polymarket also shut down the clone websites used to record the staged materials. However, the damage remains: trust in the platform has been undermined.

My expert assessment: This incident is a warning sign for the entire prediction market industry. Polymarket, which positions itself as an innovative tool for information gathering, has effectively resorted to methods more typical of dubious bookmakers. If the platform is willing to falsify user experience to attract an audience, a legitimate question arises: how reliable are its own market data and forecasts? Regulators and investors should take a closer look at such practices.