Polymarket is under new scrutiny after a Wall Street Journal investigation alleged that it paid influencers to share videos of fake trades and fabricated winnings just as it landed its first major U.S. sports league partnership. The reporting says more than 1,100 clips were made using replica versions of the site to simulate wagers that were not real, about $1.9 million in fabricated trades and roughly $900,000 in fake winnings. Some creators in the campaign were reportedly paid between $2,000 and $3,000 per month.
That matters because Polymarket’s pitch rests heavily on transparency and the idea that real trades can be verified on-chain, so any distortion of visible performance raises questions about trust and governance. Polymarket has said it will audit its promotional content. The Bundesliga partnership, announced by Relevent on June 22, still marks a major credibility boost, making Polymarket the league’s official prediction market partner in the United States just as its user-acquisition practices face tougher questions.