Polymarket caused a scandal after a post on social media regarding Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The prediction market stated that Bezos recently advised younger entrepreneurs to take a regular job before starting a business.
Bezos quickly denied these reports. The platform again raised concerns about the use of social media by prediction markets to spread unverified news and misinformation.
Polymarket post provokes a reaction from Jeff Bezos
On Thursday, Polymarket posted on X stating that Bezos recently advised 'aspiring entrepreneurs from Generation Z' to start their careers in 'real jobs,' such as at McDonald's or Palantir, before launching their own businesses.
A few hours later, the founder of Amazon responded to this post claiming that he never said such a thing. Moreover, he wondered what prompted Polymarket to come up with such a statement.
Shortly after this situation, a recording of Bezos's speech at Italian Tech Week appeared, where he advised younger entrepreneurs. However, the conversation took place nearly three months ago, and Jeff Bezos did not mention any of the companies listed by Polymarket.
'I always advise young people — go to a company where best practices are used, where you will learn many fundamental things. I started Amazon when I was 30. Not when I was 20. Those extra 10 years of experience really increased the chances that Amazon would succeed.'
The events of this week were remarkable because Jeff Bezos categorically denied Polymarket's claims.
At the same time, increasing concerns are being raised that predictive markets are spreading disinformation among their audiences on social media.
Platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi are facing increasing criticism for publishing distorted or false information on topics ranging from sports betting to geopolitical tensions.
Social media users quickly pointed out specific examples.
Are predictive markets spreading global disinformation?
In recent weeks, international tensions have risen sharply. Examples include the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, mass protests in Iran, and clashes between the United States and European countries regarding the possible purchase of Greenland.
Such events have provoked a surge in bets on predictive markets. These platforms also promoted alerts on social media that inaccurately reflected reality.
One such example occurred earlier this month. Polymarket then posted a message with an 'urgent message' stating that Iranian security forces had lost control over parts of the country's largest cities.
Although the Iranian government has internal problems, it still controls the situation through the military and security services. The post that contained controversial or false information reached nearly 7 million views, 17,000 likes, and 2,000 shares.
Most comments accused this platform of spreading fake news.
Kalshi posted a similar entry regarding tensions between the United States and Denmark over Greenland. The prediction market reported that both countries had formed a working group to discuss the U.S. interest in purchasing the island. The post received 2.8 million views.
Although the White House confirmed this information, Denmark presented a different version. The Danes stated that they agreed to 'address American concerns regarding security in relation to Greenland.'
Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi immediately responded to BeInCrypto's request for comment.
Similar reports concern Kalshi affiliates publishing false sports news on their own social media profiles.
According to Front Office Sports, despite allegations of disinformation, both Kalshi and Polymarket have no intention of giving up on using affiliate badges.
As predictive markets are expected to grow exponentially in the coming year, their use of social media to spread unverified or misleading information is drawing increasing attention.
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