Influencers hyped Polymarket's ability to predict events without disclosing they were paid.
Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
When far-right influencer Nick Shirley posted a viral video in January alleging fraud at Minnesota daycares, he showed his 1.6 million followers on X something else too: a gray hoodie emblazoned with the Polymarket logo.Polymarket had made other appearances in the 24-year-old's content, like in a series of man-on-the-street interviews about the "current state of America" posted in December.The first post came after Shirley began receiving money from Polymarket's chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber. The second came after he had taken in a total of $3,100 from Modabber, according to records reviewed by POLITICO.This daycare “Creative Minds Daycare” was SHUTDOWN and then reopened the next day under the name “Super Kids Daycare” they received $2,450,000 in 2025. According to the DHS license website “Creative minds daycare” was closed on October 1, 2025 and the SAME day “Super kids” was… pic.twitter.com/07yfM6FI3y— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) January 3, 2026
Modabber, who once wrote that the key to growth is "a product people can't shut up about," was putting his money where his mouth is. The Polymarket executive used a personal PayPal account to send at least $350,000 to Shirley and other content creators between January 2025 and February 2026, an analysis of the transactions shows.That sum is almost certainly an undercount. Modabber used his personal PayPal account, which is registered to an email for a salad spot he cofounded, to send over $2.5 million to more than 800 people during the 14-month span, the analysis shows. POLITICO independently verified the identities of about two dozen content creators who received money from Modabber by using public records and analyzing their social media accounts.At least 20 of the content creators identified by POLITICO promoted Polymarket on social media after they began receiving money from Modabber, according to payment records and POLITICO's analysis of their social media activity. During the 14-month span reflected in the payment records, they posted about Polymarket at least 490 times on the social media platform X without clearly disclosing a paid partnership. The analysis of payment records and concurrent social posts highlights the company's under-the-radar campaign to generate buzz in the political world around the highly controversial prediction market.Among those paid: conservative influencer Alex LoRusso, progressive political commentator Brian Krassenstein, and Riley Gaines, a collegiate swimmer-turned-Fox News contributor who has campaigned against trans women competing in women's sports.
