Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that Polymarket had been running a coordinated influencer campaign built on fabricated trades.
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In June 2026, a Wall Street Journal investigation revealed that Polymarket had been running a coordinated influencer campaign built on fabricated content (1).
Paid creators filmed themselves placing bets and celebrating wins on dummy websites designed to mimic the real platform, while a network of clippers mass-reposted the footage to make it appear organic.
None of the trades were real.
The campaign raised immediate questions around FTC disclosure requirements, CFTC rules on deceptive marketing, and what compliant promotion of prediction market products is actually supposed to look like.
Creators filmed short videos of themselves placing bets and winning which was shot on dummy websites built to look identical to Polymarket under the domain “poiymarket.com” with an uppercase “i” to look like a lowercase L. Pay: ~$2,000–$3,000/month. Disclosure: none initially.
Clippers (people who post video clips) mass-reposted creator content across sockpuppet accounts to manufacture organic-looking reach. Requirement: content must appear “personal and organic,” Polymarket branding scrubbed from accounts.
Streamers (some high-follower profiles like Adin Ross) discussed Polymarket during live sessions, sometimes highlighting insider trading angles as a platform feature.
A marketing firm called Virality coordinated the clippers. The campaign targeted U.S. users despite Polymarket being banned from serving them since 2022.
The CFTC-regulated U.S. framework (which governs Kalshi and, now partially, Polymarket’s U.S.-domestic app) permits promotional content provided it is truthful, non-deceptive, and properly disclosed. FTC rules additionally require paid endorsers to clearly identify their commercial relationship.
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| Practice | The Problem |
| Simulated trades on dummy sites presented as real | Deceptive depiction of platform activity which is prohibited under both CFTC anti-fraud rules and FTC truthfulness standards |
| No paid partnership disclosure | Direct violation of FTC endorsement guidelines, regardless of the amount paid |
| Scrubbing Polymarket branding from clipper accounts | Active concealment of commercial relationship, compounds the disclosure failure |
| Highlighting insider trading opportunities | CFTC prohibits market manipulation; promoting it as a selling point is a distinct problem |
| Targeting U.S. users while banned from serving them | The marketing activity itself may constitute operating in a prohibited market |
The issue here isn’t that Polymarket used influencers as prediction markets can and do run legitimate creator campaigns.
The problem is that the content depicted false outcomes, real money being made on bets that either lost or never existed. That’s the line.
A fast-food ad can make the burger look bigger, but it cannot show a customer eating a steak and call it a burger.
Real prediction market platform mechanics being shown accurately. Paid relationships disclosed upfront. No fabricated wins or simulated trades passed off as genuine.
Content that depicts the risk alongside the upside; particularly important in a gambling-adjacent product category where regulators specifically watch for unrealistic profitability claims.
The campaign generated over 140 million views. It is also what caused the WSJ investigation, a CFTC spokesperson response, and TikTok account restrictions.
Source:
(1) https://www.wsj.com/business/media/polymarket-social-media-bets-prediction-market-441cdeb5
