Jeff Bezos Denies Polymarket Claim, Rekindling Debate Over Fake News on Betting Platforms

Polymarket has become embroiled in a scandal regarding a social media post it made about Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The prediction market claimed he had recently recommended younger entrepreneurs to work regular jobs before starting a business.

Bezos quickly refuted the claims. The exchange resurfaced concerns over prediction markets’ reiterated use of social media to disseminate unverified news and misinformation.

Polymarket Post Draws Bezos Rebuttal

On Thursday, Polymarket published an X post breaking the news that Bezos recently advised “aspiring Gen Z entrepreneurs” to start their careers working at “real-world jobs” like McDonald’s or Palantir before starting a business.

Hours later, the Amazon founder replied to the post, claiming he had never made such a claim, and wondered what prompted Polymarket to make up such a statement. 

Amid the scrutiny the exchange quickly drew, a video surfaced of Bezos delivering a talk at the Italian Tech Week, in which he offered advice to younger entrepreneurs. However, the conversation took place nearly three months ago, and Bezos mentioned neither of the companies referenced by Polymarket. 

“I always advise to young people— go work at a best practices company somewhere, where you can learn a lot of basic fundamental things,” he had said, adding, “I started Amazon when I was 30. Not when I was 20. That extra 10 years of experience actually improved the odds that Amazon would succeed.” 

The events this week stood out because Bezos explicitly took the extra step of denying Polymarket’s claims.

At the same time, the track record of prediction markets spreading misinformation to their social media audiences has been a growing concern.

Platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi have faced increased scrutiny for publishing breaking news that distorted events or was outright false, spanning topics from sports betting to geopolitical tensions. 

Social media users were quick to point out specific examples.

Do Prediction Markets Amplify Global Misinformation?

In recent weeks, international tensions have risen sharply. Examples included the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, widespread protests in Iran, and clashes between the United States and European countries over the prospect of buying Greenland.

Such events have introduced a flurry of bets across prediction markets. These platforms have also used social media to publish related alerts that did not accurately reflect reality. 

One such example occurred earlier this month, when Polymarket posted a “breaking” news post unveiling that the security forces of the Iranian regime had lost control of some of the country’s largest cities. 

While Iran’s government faces internal challenges, it remains in control through its military and security forces. The post, which contained disputed or inaccurate claims, nonetheless garnered nearly 7 million views, 17,000 likes, and 2,000 reposts.

Most of the comments targeted the betting platform for being a fake news website.

Kalshi published a related post addressing reported tensions between the United States and Denmark over Greenland. The prediction market stated that the two countries had formed a working group to discuss the US interest in purchasing Greenland. The post received 2.8 million views.

Although the White House asserted such a claim, Denmark offered a different account. It stated that it had agreed to “address the American security concerns in relation to Greenland.”

Neither Polymarket nor Kalshi immediately answered BeInCrypto’s request for comment. 

Similar reports have surfaced about Kalshi affiliates posting fake sports news on their social media accounts.

According to Front Office Sports, despite being confronted about these fake posts, both Kalshi and Polymarket will not back down from using affiliate badges.

As prediction markets are expected to grow exponentially in the coming year, their use of social media to share unverified or misleading information has drawn increasing attention.