Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 424 posts

Re: Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

#21

Post by znyboy »

parm26 wrote: post #15
cj wrote: post #12

I finally gave in to my curiosity and downloaded Kalshi last week to place a few bets on the World Cup. I was blown away how easy it was. I placed a bet with real money within 5 minutes of downloading the app. They allow instant deposits with credit card, and ID verification was real time. I can’t imagine that the extreme accessibility and the typical dark patterns deployed by every popular app won’t eventually end b…

[flagged]

I think you missed the point entirely. All of these "prediction market" gambling platforms are actively predatory to their users, with very little (if any) regulatory oversight.

Re: Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

#22

Post by pesus »

jordanb wrote: post #16
realJared54 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is 100% a misrepresentation of reality to fool the general public into joining a platform that condones deceptive user acquisition strategies.

I was listening to a podcast and heard an ad for supplements (I think it was collegian). The thing that struck me was the specificity of the health claims they were making in the ad. There was no "promotes healthy whatever" it was like "this will make your skin younger and eliminate/prevent wrinkles and other signs of aging." Then the quiet fast-talking guy said that none of their health claims have been reviewed by…

I agree with your point in general, but doesn't that disclaimer apply to any kind of supplement? As far as I know that sort of thing has been allowed for quite some time. For whatever reason the FDA allows for an almost completely unregulated vitamin/supplement industry.

Re: Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

#24

Post by holistio »

cj wrote: post #12

I finally gave in to my curiosity and downloaded Kalshi last week to place a few bets on the World Cup. I was blown away how easy it was. I placed a bet with real money within 5 minutes of downloading the app. They allow instant deposits with credit card, and ID verification was real time. I can’t imagine that the extreme accessibility and the typical dark patterns deployed by every popular app won’t eventually end b…

Back in the good old days you needed a few more steps before you got into debt after gambling.

Re: Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

#25

Post by cogman10 »

All these gambling apps need regulation. And I fear they are buying politicians precisely so that doesn't happen.

If I were to have my way, I'd put a law in place that limits bets to $5 max and monthly bets to $150 per month. Letting them go higher encourages some of the worst aspects of society.

We will see crazy things like athletes being injured or murdered in order to win bets. We are already seeing crazy things like white house insiders placing bets on when wars will start.

One of the few ways to really solve this problem is reducing the possible amount of award so the individuals placing these bets don't feel like they have to take matters into their own hands to win.

Re: Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

#27

Post by ceejayoz »

idle_zealot wrote: post #18
ceejayoz wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Would that be less fraudulent… Is this even a question? Yes, it would be less fraudulent.

I question your definitions. In what sense is it legally or morally useful to discriminate between lying with statistics and lying without them? It's an academically useful distinction, but why does it matter in practice? People are misled, the misleading is intentional, but if you hire a statistician to do it for you instead of an actor then you're A-Okay?

"Someone won" is truthful.

"Celebrity X won" was not.

I am not a fan of gambling, nor gambling advertisements, but this was outright fraud, and a violation of FTC rules (https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/ftcs-endorse...) on disclosure.

Re: Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

#28

Post by jordanb »

pesus wrote: post #22
jordanb wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was listening to a podcast and heard an ad for supplements (I think it was collegian). The thing that struck me was the specificity of the health claims they were making in the ad. There was no "promotes healthy whatever" it was like "this will make your skin younger and eliminate/prevent wrinkles and other signs of aging." Then the quiet fast-talking guy said that none of their health claims have been reviewed by…

I agree with your point in general, but doesn't that disclaimer apply to any kind of supplement? As far as I know that sort of thing has been allowed for quite some time. For whatever reason the FDA allows for an almost completely unregulated vitamin/supplement industry.

They used to be vague and not make specific claims because that wasn't allowed. They'd say "Vitamin K helps promote healthy eyes." They can't say "our chewable will cure your glaucoma. (claimhasnotbeenreviewedbytheFDA)"

But apparently they can do that now, or at least they are doing it.

Re: Polymarket has flooded social media with deceptive videos by paid creators

#30

Post by ok_dad »

cogman10 wrote: post #25

All these gambling apps need regulation. And I fear they are buying politicians precisely so that doesn't happen. If I were to have my way, I'd put a law in place that limits bets to $5 max and monthly bets to $150 per month. Letting them go higher encourages some of the worst aspects of society. We will see crazy things like athletes being injured or murdered in order to win bets. We are already seeing crazy things…

We should just make gambling illegal online again, things were fine back when you couldn’t gamble online then, at least in the USA, the fucking supreme corpo guzzlers (formerly the Supreme Court) interpreted the laws according to their owners will and now we have gambling online.
Post reply on HN