Polymarket bettors threaten reporter over wagering outcome

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A reporter covering the ongoing conflict between Israel, the U.S., and Iran and its regional spillover said he received death threats from individuals attempting to pressure him to change his reporting.

In a detailed account published in The Times of Israel on Monday, military correspondent Emanuel Fabian said gamblers who had placed wagers on Polymarket began contacting him after he reported that an Iranian missile struck an open area near the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh on March 10.

Fabian said the individuals appeared to be trying to influence the outcome of a Polymarket contract titled “Iran strikes Israel on…?” which had more than $14 million wagered as of the March 10 date.

Under the market’s rules, the contract would resolve “yes” if Iran carried out a missile, drone, or airstrike on Israeli soil that day. However, a separate clause stated that intercepted projectiles would not qualify.

Fabian said he received dozens of messages across email, social media, and messaging apps, including a stream of WhatsApp threats from one individual warning him that he would “finish” him if the article was not changed.

Fabian said multiple individuals had asked him to revise his report to state that the missile had been intercepted. He declined, saying the information he published was based on statements from Israeli rescue services and military sources.

He said he ultimately filed a police report and provided investigators with the communications.

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