Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is pressing prediction market platform Polymarket for answers about its marketing practices, arguing that paid influencer partnerships may have helped spread election misinformation while creating financial incentives tied to election betting.
In a July 14 letter to Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, the Illinois Democrat said he is concerned about “the role of prediction-market platforms in amplifying and profiting from election misinformation and false claims of voter fraud,” pointing to recent reporting about the company’s promotional activities.
Krishnamoorthi said those reports raise broader questions about how election prediction markets are marketed and whether existing safeguards are sufficient to stop misleading claims about election integrity from gaining traction. According to the letter, weaknesses in influencer, affiliate and sponsored-content programs may allow election misinformation to spread while benefiting platforms, paid promoters and market participants.
Election marketing concerns add to growing challenges for Polymarket
The lawmaker cited reporting involving both Polymarket and Kalshi, saying political influencers promoted election markets while also questioning the legitimacy of contested races. He wrote that these arrangements demonstrate how “inadequate guardrails in affiliate programs can enable sponsored content to blend with misleading election-fraud narratives.”
Krishnamoorthi also said Polymarket sponsored influencers who promoted election-denial claims while advertising active election betting markets. He argued that such arrangements create situations where both the company and its users “may financially benefit from speculation driven by allegations of election fraud.”
“These dynamics create dangerous incentives,” he wrote. “When political influence and financial incentives become intertwined, platforms risk incentivizing premature claims, misleading narratives, and false allegations before votes are fully counted or certified.”
The congressman also referenced reports that social media influencers cited prediction-market odds while falsely suggesting the Los Angeles mayoral election had been manipulated despite no evidence of fraud. He said combining market odds with those claims could undermine public confidence in elections.
The latest congressional scrutiny arrives as Polymarket faces pressure on several other fronts. In late June, the company disclosed that a compromised third-party vendor injected malicious code into parts of its frontend in what security researchers later identified as a phishing campaign rather than a breach of its underlying smart contracts. Researchers estimated attackers stole roughly $3 million before the company removed the malicious dependency and pledged to fully reimburse affected users.
At the same time, U.S. lawmakers had already urged the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to examine allegations surrounding Polymarket’s marketing practices following claims in ongoing litigation involving undisclosed paid influencers and promotions allegedly targeting American consumers. CNBC has also reported that the CFTC opened an investigation into Polymarket, although the agency has not publicly confirmed it.
Krishnamoorthi requested a response by July 28, seeking details about Polymarket’s influencer relationships, vetting procedures, internal discussions and election-related marketing policies. He also called for stronger safeguards, including clearer disclosures and restrictions on paid promotions that could mislead the public.
“Waiting until misinformation has already spread is insufficient,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “Platforms that profit from election-related prediction markets have a responsibility to ensure that their products are not used to fuel false claims, undermine confidence in election results, or erode trust in free and fair elections.”
Featured image: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi via Facebook / Polymarket
