Polymarket Says It Deals in Truth, but Its Social Feeds Are Filled With Falsehoods
Source: Polymarket Says It Deals in Truth, but Its Social Feeds Are Filled With Falsehoods Publisher: The New York Times | Author: Stuart A. Thompson, David Yaffe-Bellany, Mike Isaac Published: March 20, 2026 | Archived: March 21, 2026
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A review of the betting market’s social media feeds found it has published hundreds of false and misleading posts.
March 20, 2026
Polymarket, the betting website that accepts wagers on everything from who wins the Super Bowl to what will be said in the State of the Union address, describes itself as more than a digital gambling hub.
In the words of its chief executive, it is also “News 2.0” — a source of truth fueled by millions of users who put money on the line to back their predictions.
The site, valued at more than $9 billion last year, has been credited for accurately predicting what happens in sports, politics and culture through its online marketplace, where users place bets on the outcome of nearly any event, priced according to how likely it is to happen.
Yet on Polymarket’s social media feeds, truth is often slippery. A New York Times review of hundreds of Polymarket’s posts on X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram found a pattern of its accounts sharing false and misleading information.
The company, which has nearly two million followers across its social accounts, has amplified unproven claims from the Trump administration and baseless conspiracy theories. It misleadingly suggested, for example, that Tim Walz, Minnesota’s Democratic governor, had “declared war” on President Trump, stoking concerns online about a civil war.
The cacophony of news updates, memes and crude humor that populate Polymarket’s social feeds reflects an irreverent online strategy meant to attract young men, who are most likely to become paying users. But as the company expands in the United States — and into consequential topics about American politics — its missteps can have serious ramifications.
Polymarket Says It Deals in Truth, but Its Social Feeds Are Filled With Falsehoods - The New York Times
Polymarket Says It Deals in Truth, but Its Social Feeds Are Filled With Falsehoods - The New York Times
Polymarket Says It Deals in Truth, but Its Social Feeds Are Filled With Falsehoods - The New York Times
Polymarket Says It Deals in Truth, but Its Social Feeds Are Filled With Falsehoods - The New York Times
Stuart A. Thompson writes for The Times about online influence, including the people, places and institutions that shape the information we all consume.
Mike Isaac is The Times’s Silicon Valley correspondent, based in San Francisco. He covers the world’s most consequential tech companies, and how they shape culture both online and offline.
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