Polymarket Paid Influencers for Staged "Wins"

Polymarket, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, spent approximately $1.9 million on a creator campaign in which influencers published videos simulating successful bets. In total, 1,105 videos published between December 2025 and May 2026 were analyzed.

Creators were provided with fake copies of the platform's interface, which they used to demonstrate "trading" and supposedly profitable deals. In 118 videos, the authors showcased "winnings" of nearly $900,000.

However, analysis revealed that had these deals been real, they would not have generated any profit — and would have collectively resulted in losses exceeding $166,000.

It was also noted that some of these posts were not labeled as advertising. Additionally, the campaign may have been partially targeted at a US audience despite access restrictions on the platform, and the content may have referenced ways to bypass blocks via VPN.

Polymarket stated that it would conduct an internal review of its advertising campaigns and reconsider its approach to influencer partnerships.