UPDATE: Polymarket ends sponsorship of election misinformation
On Monday, Popular Information revealed that a network of at least 16 online influencers was pushing election misinformation in posts on X sponsored by Polymarket, a popular online prediction market. The posts claimed, without evidence, that the Los Angeles mayoral election was “rigged” against reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a Republican candidate. The influencers pushing these conspiracies — including former InfoWars host Owen Shroyer and far-right content creator Benny Johnson — have a collective audience of 13 million.
Polymarket did not respond to Popular Information’s request for comment for Monday’s story, or to a similar inquiry from Semafor. The company has previously used sensationalism on X as a way to generate engagement and interest.
But, after Monday’s investigation gained traction, Polymarket determined that the X posts violated its policies. “Our existing marketing guidelines explicitly prohibit affiliates from providing misleading or false information, and we will continue to monitor and ensure compliance with our paid contributors,” Polymarket told Popular Information in a Wednesday statement.
Content creators partnering with Polymarket agree to publish a certain number of posts promoting the company each month. Polymarket has informed creators that posts promoting election conspiracies violate their agreement and is requesting the “Paid Partnership” label be removed.
As of Wednesday afternoon, seven of the Polymarket-sponsored X posts flagged by Popular Information had been deleted entirely, six had the “Paid Partnership” label removed, and three had not been changed.
Polymarket declined to comment on whether it was ending its overall partnership with far-right influencers or whether its actions were limited to the specific posts with election misinformation.
Judd, Keep the lights of truth shining through these cracks of lies, misinformation, and thievery!
I didn't use Twitter/X. Anyone on Judd's substack that still uses it ought to find another social media site to post on. It is OK to look and if you see questionable misleading posts, tell Judd. He follows up.