U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent letters on August 26 to prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi, demanding the companies end paid influencer relationships tied to false claims about U.S. elections and answer detailed questions about their Influencer Marketing practices ahead of the midterms.
Padilla, ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, and Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, sent the letter with the midterm elections 69 days away. The senators wrote that they are “seriously alarmed that your marketing strategy includes paying numerous social media influencers willing to espouse unreliable information on elections,” adding that the platforms “may be subsidizing, and amplifying, social media influencers who echo President Trump’s baseless attacks and sow distrust in American elections.”
The letter cites two specific episodes. In July, a series of influencers, including former Congressman Matt Gaetz, posted “paid partnership” content linking to Polymarket and Kalshi charts showing the SAVE Act’s odds of passage falling to record lows, with commentary the senators said undermined confidence in elections or advocated for the legislation. Some of those posts were later removed after being flagged for potential violations of X’s paid-partnership policy barring political content in sponsored posts; others remain online. In June, the senators said, influencers under contract with both companies spread false conspiracy theories about California’s elections in posts marked “paid partnership,” reaching millions of views before the posts came down, only after news coverage of them.
The senators asked Polymarket and Kalshi to provide, by September 4, their standard paid-influencer contracts and payment ranges, their vetting criteria for influencers, and any policies governing election-related content and misinformation. They also asked each company to say whether it considers spreading election disinformation a violation of its own rulebook language on fraud and market integrity, pointing to specific provisions in each platform’s rules, and whether paid influencers are permitted to bet on the same markets they are promoting.
The letter follows earlier scrutiny of Polymarket’s influencer practices. A Wall Street Journal investigation reported in June that Polymarket paid creators to post videos of fabricated bets and winnings, filmed on near-identical copies of the platform’s website, without disclosing the payments. The Journal reviewed more than 1,100 videos and found 118 depicting roughly $900,000 in winnings that would have actually resulted in $166,000 in losses. Polymarket said at the time it was “committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets” and planned to audit its promotional content.
The senators closed their letter by urging both companies to “reevaluate all paid influencer relationships regarding elections, thoroughly vet all existing and future paid influencer arrangements, and immediately terminate any existing relationships with those who spread election misinformation, disinformation, or undermine the integrity of U.S. elections.”
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent letters on August 26 to prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi, demanding the companies end paid influencer relationships tied to false claims about U.S. elections and answer detailed questions about their Influencer Marketing practices ahead of the midterms.
Padilla, ranking member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, and Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, sent the letter with the midterm elections 69 days away. The senators wrote that they are “seriously alarmed that your marketing strategy includes paying numerous social media influencers willing to espouse unreliable information on elections,” adding that the platforms “may be subsidizing, and amplifying, social media influencers who echo President Trump’s baseless attacks and sow distrust in American elections.”
The letter cites two specific episodes. In July, a series of influencers, including former Congressman Matt Gaetz, posted “paid partnership” content linking to Polymarket and Kalshi charts showing the SAVE Act’s odds of passage falling to record lows, with commentary the senators said undermined confidence in elections or advocated for the legislation. Some of those posts were later removed after being flagged for potential violations of X’s paid-partnership policy barring political content in sponsored posts; others remain online. In June, the senators said, influencers under contract with both companies spread false conspiracy theories about California’s elections in posts marked “paid partnership,” reaching millions of views before the posts came down, only after news coverage of them.
The senators asked Polymarket and Kalshi to provide, by September 4, their standard paid-influencer contracts and payment ranges, their vetting criteria for influencers, and any policies governing election-related content and misinformation. They also asked each company to say whether it considers spreading election disinformation a violation of its own rulebook language on fraud and market integrity, pointing to specific provisions in each platform’s rules, and whether paid influencers are permitted to bet on the same markets they are promoting.
The letter follows earlier scrutiny of Polymarket’s influencer practices. A Wall Street Journal investigation reported in June that Polymarket paid creators to post videos of fabricated bets and winnings, filmed on near-identical copies of the platform’s website, without disclosing the payments. The Journal reviewed more than 1,100 videos and found 118 depicting roughly $900,000 in winnings that would have actually resulted in $166,000 in losses. Polymarket said at the time it was “committed to maintaining accurate, fair, and transparent markets” and planned to audit its promotional content.
The senators closed their letter by urging both companies to “reevaluate all paid influencer relationships regarding elections, thoroughly vet all existing and future paid influencer arrangements, and immediately terminate any existing relationships with those who spread election misinformation, disinformation, or undermine the integrity of U.S. elections.”
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