Polymarket bettors allegedly barrage Israeli reporter with death threats over story about Iranian missile strike
Bettors Allegedly Make Death Threats to Israeli Reporter Over Article on Iranian Missile Strike
According to a report, bettors on Polymarket have allegedly made death threats to an Israeli reporter in an attempt to pressure him to change an article he wrote about an Iranian missile strike.
Emanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for the Times of Israel, detailed the ordeal in a recent article, revealing that threats started pouring in after he reported on an Iranian ballistic missile hitting outside Beit Shemesh on March 10, causing no casualties.
The bettors on Polymarket had placed wagers on whether Iran would carry out a missile, drone, or air strike in Israel on March 10, leading them to take a keen interest in Fabian’s report.
Messages urging Fabian to correct his report to state that the missile had been intercepted and the blast was due to falling debris flooded his inbox. Polymarket’s rules dictate that an intercepted missile strike does not count in their betting system.
Threats of harm were made against Fabian if he did not comply with the demands by a certain deadline. Some messages even included details about the location of his home and family members.
Despite attempts to bribe Fabian, he stood his ground and refused to make any changes to his article. He sought assistance from Israeli police and continued his coverage of the conflict.
Polymarket, a crypto-based betting platform that drew about $15 million in trading volume for the Iranian strike on Israel event, condemned the harassment and threats directed at Fabian.
Fabian provided explanations for why his article was accurate, citing information from the Israeli military and his own analysis of video footage. He also debunked a fabricated response circulating on social media that falsely claimed he admitted to an error in his reporting.
The threats against Fabian escalated, with one harasser initiating a countdown for a response, demanding that he acknowledge their demands within a specific time frame.
