A Wall Street Journal investigation has revealed that Polymarket, the crypto prediction market that became a cultural phenomenon during the 2024 US election cycle, paid social media creators to fabricate betting wins and promote them as genuine. The scheme involved fake websites, staged celebrations, and a coordinated effort to keep the whole arrangement under wraps.
The anatomy of a fake win
The most prominent case centers on creator George Makihara, who claimed in January 2026 that he had won $100,000 betting on Polymarket that President Donald Trump would say “McDonald’s.” The video went viral. The problem: the bet never happened.
Trump didn’t even mention McDonald’s that month, meaning more than 50 genuine Polymarket accounts that placed real bets on the same market actually lost money.
The Journal’s investigation dug into 1,105 videos produced by ten creators since December 2025. The findings were damning: approximately 70% of those videos showcased bets totaling nearly $1.9 million that were entirely made up. Creators filmed themselves celebrating fabricated winnings of around $900,000, using counterfeit versions of the Polymarket interface to sell the illusion.
