Israeli Journalist Threatened with Murder by Polymarket Gambler over Iran Missile Report
A prominent war correspondent from the Times of Israel, Emanuel Fabian, became a victim of extortion and murder threats triggered by a global cryptocurrency betting market, Polymarket. This incident has exposed the dark side of prediction market platforms that are now beginning to threaten the lives of journalists in war zones.
The threats emerged after Fabian reported the fall of Iranian missiles in an open area near Beit Shemesh on 10 March 2026. Without his knowledge, his report became a key reference for gamblers on the Polymarket platform who were wagering millions of US dollars.
“If you cause me to lose a US$900,000 bet, we will invest no less than that amount to eliminate you,” read one of the threatening messages Fabian received via WhatsApp.
In the Polymarket system, bets are settled based on facts that occur in the real world. In the case of the 10 March attack, there was a debate among gamblers over whether the explosion reported by Fabian was a direct missile strike or merely missile fragments that were successfully intercepted.
Under betting rules, if a missile strike is not confirmed within 48 hours, those who wagered “No” will win. This prompted high-stakes gamblers to force Fabian to revise his report so the betting outcome would favour them.
The case triggered alarm at the legislative level in the United States. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut was scheduled to introduce the BETS OFF Act (Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions) to prohibit gambling on sensitive events involving national security.
Critics argue that platforms such as Polymarket and Kalshi create perverse incentives. “The last thing a war journalist needs is people with a financial stake in life-or-death outcomes harassing and coercing them to change their reporting for payment,” said Amanda Fischer, Policy Director at Better Markets.
Polymarket issued a formal statement condemning the harassment against Fabian and claimed to have blocked the accounts involved. However, the incident proves that information integrity is now under direct threat from speculative capitalism based on blockchain technology.
Fabian stated that he stood by his report. He hopes that his courage in exposing this terror will serve as a warning to anyone who attempts to intimidate journalists for financial gain.