Polymarket paid influencers to fake winning bets in 140 million-view marketing campaign, WSJ investigation finds

A Wall Street Journal investigation has found that crypto prediction market platform Polymarket paid dozens of social media creators to post videos showing what appeared to be large, profitable bets on its platform, even though many of those trades never happened. The videos, viewed more than 140 million times across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, featured fake bets, fake winnings, and near-identical copies of Polymarket’s website that creators used to film staged trades.

The findings raise fresh questions about transparency in an industry that has promoted itself as a more accurate and data-driven way to forecast everything from elections to financial markets.

The report comes just days after TechStartups reported that Polymarket had surpassed $1 billion in annualized revenue, a milestone that underscored the platform’s breakneck growth as prediction markets attract more traders, investors, and institutional attention. The timing adds another layer of scrutiny to one of crypto’s fastest-growing companies.

In its investigation, titled “They looked like they were getting rich on Polymarket—but none of it was real,” The Wall Street Journal highlighted college student George Makihara, whose videos appeared to show him building a profitable side income by betting on Polymarket. In one January post, he seemed to win $100,000 on a wager that President Trump would publicly say the word “McDonald’s” during the month. Across videos published between January and mid-May, Makihara appeared to place 145 bets totaling nearly $410,000.

“But none of those bets were real, according to a Wall Street Journal investigation,” the newspaper wrote.

The newspaper reported that public Polymarket trading data showed no such winning bet existed. More than 50 real users placed the same McDonald’s wager, and every one of them lost.

How Polymarket’s Alleged Fake Betting Campaign Worked

The investigation found that Polymarket paid mostly college-age creators to publish hundreds of videos that appeared to show users making high-stakes wagers and collecting life-changing profits. The Journal reviewed more than 1,100 videos posted by 10 creators between December 2025 and mid-May 2026 as part of a broader campaign involving dozens of influencers.

Nearly 70% of those videos showed apparent bets totaling about $1.9 million. None of those wagers were placed on Polymarket’s live platform, the Journal reported. In another 118 videos, creators celebrated almost $900,000 in supposed winnings. Public trading records showed those positions would have lost more than $166,000 had they been placed on the real platform.

One example centered on college student George Makihara, whose videos portrayed him earning large payouts from prediction markets. In one January video, he appeared to win $100,000 on a wager that President Donald Trump would publicly say the word “McDonald’s” during the month.

“The bet was one of 145 that Makihara appeared to place on Polymarket’s website between January and mid-May, based on his videos. Bets adding up to almost $410,000,” the Journal wrote.

Public blockchain data reviewed by the newspaper showed that more than 50 real Polymarket users placed the same McDonald’s wager. Every one of those accounts was lost. The video celebrating the alleged win used footage recorded months earlier, according to the investigation.

The Journal reported that Polymarket built password-protected copies of its website that closely resembled the live platform. One version reportedly appeared under the domain poiymarket.com, replacing the lowercase letter “l” with an “i” to make the address look nearly identical. The cloned sites contained simulated markets that creators used to record fake trades and fake profits.

Small details exposed the copies, including altered buttons, missing market data, and references to test environments that never appeared on the production platform.

Creators received scripts encouraging attention-grabbing reactions and phrases such as “free money,” “BRO, WHAT?” and “Am I missing something?” Internal communications reviewed by the Journal showed that videos were sometimes returned for reshoots if they lacked enough excitement or made the staging too obvious.

The creators reportedly earned between $2,000 and $3,000 per month. Many initially disclosed nothing about being paid by Polymarket. Some later added “partner” to their social media profiles after the Journal began asking questions.

The investigation found that Polymarket hired the marketing firm Virality to distribute the videos through a network of “clippers,” many of whom were reportedly teenagers based in Asia who operated multiple social media accounts. Those accounts targeted American audiences, with payments reportedly tied to reaching at least 60% U.S. viewers. Collectively, the campaign generated more than 140 million views.

“In its push to draw users to its unregulated platform, Polymarket has flooded social media with videos like Makihara’s, which appear genuine at first glance. In reality, Polymarket built near-perfect copies of its website, then instructed creators to make simulated trades on those dummy sites and hide that they were being paid by Polymarket,” The Wall Street Journal wrote.

The findings stand in sharp contrast to Polymarket’s public image. The crypto prediction platform gained broad attention during the 2024 U.S. presidential election after many observers praised its market odds as a real-time measure of public expectations. The company has promoted blockchain transparency and market integrity as key advantages over traditional polling and betting platforms.

Polymarket told the Journal it is “committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets” and said it is conducting a “comprehensive audit of active promotional content” to verify compliance with company standards and applicable regulations. The company pointed to its on-chain transparency tools, monitoring systems, and policies prohibiting insider trading and market manipulation.

The investigation builds on earlier Politico reporting that Polymarket’s chief marketing officer used a personal PayPal account to pay political influencers without clear disclosure requirements to promote the platform’s predictions.

The controversy has already drawn the attention of lawmakers. On June 26, bipartisan U.S. Senators John Curtis of Utah and Adam Schiff of California sent a letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael Selig requesting an investigation into the alleged marketing practices. The senators described the reported conduct as “deeply troubling” and asked whether the campaign violated federal law or CFTC rules, requesting a response by July 10.

Reports indicate the CFTC already has an ongoing investigation involving Polymarket.

The timing is notable. The investigation comes as prediction markets move beyond their crypto roots and into the mainstream, drawing interest from major technology companies, Wall Street firms, regulators, and millions of new users. Companies including Meta have reportedly explored ways to bring prediction markets into their products, highlighting the sector’s growing strategic importance.

The episode adds fresh scrutiny to prediction markets at a time when the industry is pushing for broader acceptance in the United States and introducing contracts tied to private company valuations, IPOs, economic indicators, and other events. For consumers, the investigation serves as a reminder that viral trading videos and claims of easy profits on social media warrant careful scrutiny, especially when they seem almost too good to be true.