Polymarket Used Fabricated Trading Videos and False Profits to Target U.S. Users, WSJ Investigation Finds

According to a Wall Street Journal investigation on June 21, Polymarket used fabricated trading videos and fake profit screenshots to market its prediction market platform to U.S. users. The platform paid creators to produce content exaggerating trading wins, which spread widely across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, creating a false impression that users could easily profit from betting on political, sports, and current events.

Polymarket hired marketing company Virality to manage influencer campaigns explicitly targeting U.S. users. The platform had previously avoided providing direct services to Americans to evade U.S. regulatory oversight. If confirmed, these marketing practices suggest the platform has long operated in a legal gray area despite claiming to restrict American user access.