{"id":63570,"date":"2026-03-17T10:21:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T03:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/polymarket-bettors-threatened-a-journalist-over-an-iran-missile-report\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T10:21:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T03:21:04","slug":"polymarket-bettors-threatened-a-journalist-over-an-iran-missile-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbbgroup.net\/vi\/polymarket-bettors-threatened-a-journalist-over-an-iran-missile-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Polymarket bettors threatened a journalist over an Iran missile report"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Prediction markets platform Polymarket says it has now banned and reported users who pressured an Israeli journalist with death threats to amend a news article about an Iranian missile strike that was the subject of a $17 million prediction market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Times of Israel military correspondent Emanuel Fabian wrote in a report<\/a> on Monday that he began receiving messages to change his report about an Iranian missile<\/a> that struck outside the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on March 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I now understand, the emails I received were intended to confirm whether or not a missile had hit Israel on March 10 in order to resolve a prediction on Polymarket,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

The market<\/a> allowed bets on what date Iran would strike Israel, with over $17 million currently wagered on March 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rules state the market \u201cwill resolve to \u2018Yes\u2019 if Iran initiates a drone, missile, or air strike on Israel\u2019s soil on the listed date,\u201d however, a clause in the rules adds that \u201cmissiles or drones that are intercepted\u201d wouldn’t be counted even if they land in Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy minor report on a missile striking an open area was now in the middle of a betting war, with those who had bet \u2018No\u2019 on an Iranian strike on Israel on March 10 demanding I change my article to ensure they would win big,\u201d Fabian wrote.<\/p>\n

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No injuries are reported in Iran’s latest ballistic missile attack on Israel, the fourth today.<\/p>\n

One missile struck an open area just outside Beit Shemesh, first responders say and footage shows.<\/p>\n

Sirens had sounded across the Jerusalem area, the West Bank, and parts of southern\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/j6sovAsDwz<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2014 Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Trading volumes on prediction markets, the largest being Polymarket and Kalshi, have surged in the past year, but critics and lawmakers<\/a> have warned that popular markets tied to war and political events could incentivize insider trading<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Journalist gets death threats over report<\/h2>\n

Fabian said he received emails, messages and calls to change his report to say the strike was a missile fragment, with one individual also fabricating a message to make it appear that Fabian agreed the missile was intercepted.<\/p>\n

Fabian said he received lengthy, threatening messages in Hebrew from someone called \u201cHaim,\u201d who told him to alter the report or there would be \u201cdamage you have never imagined you would suffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fabian said Haim warned he was \u201cat risk,\u201d that they would invest money \u201cto finish you,\u201d that he \u201cmade a fatal mistake\u201d and that he had made \u201cenemies who will be willing to pay anything to make your life miserable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haim also gave \u201cspecific details\u201d about his parents, family and neighborhood, he added.<\/p>\n

Fabian said he went to the police over the threats, who are now investigating.<\/p>\n

Polymarket said in a statement posted<\/a> to X on Monday that it \u201ccondemns the harassment & threats directed at Emanuel Fabian \u2014 or anyone else for that matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related: <\/strong><\/em>Israel arrests two over Polymarket trades on military operations<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis behavior violates our Terms of Service & has no place on our platform. We’ve banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

Fabian added that, before the threatening messages, a colleague from another media outlet had contacted him, saying an acquaintance was requesting to change the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That journalist later confronted their acquaintance over the request, who admitted to placing bets on Polymarket and offering a portion of the winnings if the report was changed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe attempt by these gamblers to pressure me to change my reporting so that they would win their bet did not and will not succeed,\u201d Fabian said. \u201cBut I do worry that other journalists may not be as ethical if they are promised some of the winnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

The results of the market over when Iran would strike Israel on Polymarket were in dispute at the time of writing, with \u201cNo\u201d bettors asserting the explosion on March 10 was an intercepted missile.<\/p>\n

However, Fabian later reported<\/a> that the Israeli Defense Forces confirmed the missile that exploded outside of Beit Shemesh was not intercepted.<\/p>\n

Magazine: <\/strong><\/em>How crypto laws changed in 2025 \u2014 and how they\u2019ll change in 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n