Paid influencers pushed Polymarket odds without disclosing payments

When far-right influencer Nick Shirley posted a viral video in January alleging fraud at Minnesota daycares, he also wore a gray hoodie with the Polymarket logo. He had featured the platform in earlier man-on-the-street videos, and those posts came after he began receiving money from Polymarket's chief marketing officer, Matthew Modabber.

Payment records show Modabber used a personal PayPal account to send at least $350,000 to Shirley and other content creators between January 2025 and February 2026. That figure likely understates the activity: the same account sent over $2.5 million to more than 800 people across a 14-month span, and the identities of about two dozen recipients were independently verified by cross-checking public records and social media.

At least 20 of those creators promoted Polymarket on social media after receiving payments, posting about the platform at least 490 times on X during that period without clear paid-promotion labels. Paid promoters included Alex LoRusso, Brian Krassenstein, and Riley Gaines.

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