Polymarket, A 'Source Of Truth,' Is Spreading Misinformation On Social Media
Prediction markets often bill themselves as a “source of truth.” For Polymarket, it’s not clear that concept applies to its work on social media.
Twice in the past week, Polymarket has posted things on X/Twitter that simply aren’t true. The first one is a tweet from its sports-focused account that said this:
“BREAKING: ‘No bag policy’ has been implemented for tonight's WNBA game in an attempt to crack down on dildo throwers.
The tweet got tons of engagement and more than 43 million views, according to Twitter’s metrics on the post.
However, it doesn’t appear that there was any truth to this “report” from Polymarket. The tweet did not receive a community note, but there are no media reports of any recently implemented bans on bags at WNBA games. Yahoo Sports/The Sporting News went so far as to publish a post specifically debunking the Polymarket tweet:
At present, there is no such thing as a "no-bag policy" in WNBA games. There's no reputable reporting that the league is pursuing an anti-bag directive at the time.
The rumor appears to have emerged from the shores of Polymarket Sports, who claimed on Aug. 6 that the league is banning bags for Golden State's contest against the Aces.
Also, a reporter for Front Office Sports relayed that there was no change in bag policy for the only game on the day of Polymarket’s tweet:
Most of the “reporting” on the no-bag policy — and most from low-value aggregators — seems to stem from Polymarket’s tweet.
Notably, Polymarket has offered several markets about sex toys being thrown on the court in recent days:
Users believing there is a “no bag policy” would certainly lead to more people betting on the “no” market.
Another tweet this weekend from Polymarket was palpably false, and this one got a community note:
No serious reporting indicated that the formation was confirmation of life having existed on Mars. For what it’s worth, Polymarket got dinged with another community note in the past involving “alien life.”
You might chalk these episodes up to an overzealous social media team chasing engagement, if not for Polymarket continually positioning itself as a “source of truth” (this is just one example):
Is Polymarket a truth machine, or a platform unconcerned with the truth when there’s engagement to be had? It should probably decide which it wants to be.