Polymarket’s social media presence may have been artificially inflated through staged bets, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, raising potential regulatory issues for the prediction market operator.

What the WSJ uncovered 1,105 videos from 10 creators posted since December, finding a wager featured in approximately 70% of them.

Notably, none of the nearly $1.9 million in bets showcased in these clips were legitimate. Many creators, predominantly in college and compensated by Polymarket’s marketing network, were seen making fake bets or celebrating fictitious wins on nearly identical versions of the Polymarket website.

For instance, one notable video features student George Makihara ecstatic over a supposed $100,000 win on a bet related to former President Donald Trump’s use of the word “McDonald’s.” However, the WSJ reported that the footage Makihara reacted to was filmed two months prior, with Trump never mentioning the word that month, resulting in over 50 genuine accounts losing money on the same bet.

How the staged content was crafted – The videos depict creators engaging with phony versions of the platform, including a misspelled domain “poiymarket.com.” A source disclosed to the WSJ that these dummy environments were created by Polymarket, resembling test sites utilized by engineers. Throughout 118 videos, creators claimed almost $900,000 in fabricated earnings from positions that would have actually resulted in losses exceeding $166,000.

Reportedly, creators received about $2,000-$3,000 monthly, with the expectation of keeping their arrangements private; some only added the phrase “@polymarket partner” to their bios following inquiries from the WSJ.