A prominent war correspondent from the Times of Israel, Emanuel\nFabian, became a victim of extortion and murder threats triggered by a\nglobal cryptocurrency betting market, Polymarket. This incident has\nexposed the dark side of prediction market platforms that are now\nbeginning to threaten the lives of journalists in war zones.<\/p>\n
The threats emerged after Fabian reported the fall of Iranian\nmissiles in an open area near Beit Shemesh on 10 March 2026. Without his\nknowledge, his report became a key reference for gamblers on the\nPolymarket platform who were wagering millions of US dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you cause me to lose a US$900,000 bet, we will invest no less\nthan that amount to eliminate you,\u201d read one of the threatening messages\nFabian received via WhatsApp.<\/p>\n
In the Polymarket system, bets are settled based on facts that occur\nin the real world. In the case of the 10 March attack, there was a\ndebate among gamblers over whether the explosion reported by Fabian was\na direct missile strike or merely missile fragments that were\nsuccessfully intercepted.<\/p>\n
Under betting rules, if a missile strike is not confirmed within 48\nhours, those who wagered \u201cNo\u201d will win. This prompted high-stakes\ngamblers to force Fabian to revise his report so the betting outcome\nwould favour them.<\/p>\n
The case triggered alarm at the legislative level in the United\nStates. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut was scheduled to introduce\nthe BETS OFF Act (Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and\nFederal Functions) to prohibit gambling on sensitive events involving\nnational security.<\/p>\n
Critics argue that platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi create\nperverse incentives. \u201cThe last thing a war journalist needs is people\nwith a financial stake in life-or-death outcomes harassing and coercing\nthem to change their reporting for payment,\u201d said Amanda Fischer, Policy\nDirector at Better Markets.<\/p>\n
Polymarket issued a formal statement condemning the harassment\nagainst Fabian and claimed to have blocked the accounts involved.\nHowever, the incident proves that information integrity is now under\ndirect threat from speculative capitalism based on blockchain\ntechnology.<\/p>\n
Fabian stated that he stood by his report. He hopes that his courage\nin exposing this terror will serve as a warning to anyone who attempts\nto intimidate journalists for financial gain.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/israeli-journalist-threatened-with-murder-by-polymarket-gambler-over-iran-missile-report-1773766396", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }