Polymarket Gamblers Threaten To Kill Journalist Over Iran Missile Story
Published on 2026-03-16T21:00:00Z
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Times of Israel, written by journalist Emanuel Fabian: On Tuesday, March 10, a massive explosion shook the city of Beit Shemesh, just outside Jerusalem, in yet another Iranian ballistic missile attack during the ongoing war. Rescue services scrambled to the scene in search of possible casualties, though as it turned out, the projectile had struck a forested area just outside the city, around 500 meters from homes. On The Times of Israel's liveblog that day, I reported that the missile had hit an open area and no injuries were caused, citing the rescue services, as well as footage that emerged showing the massive explosion caused by the missile's warhead. But what I thought was a seemingly minor incident during the war has turned into days of harassment and death threats against me. Emanuel received numerous emails, messages and calls from individuals urging him to change the report to say the missile had been intercepted. "It was indeed a little strange to receive the same question, about something relatively inconsequential, from two different people within a day," he said, until eventually making the Polymarket connection after noticing two users on X respond to his story with apparent ties to Polymarket... "There are people saying that they have received word from you that the missile strike in Beit Shemesh on March 10th was in fact intercepted, is this true or did no such interaction occur?" wrote one of the users. "was there any video of the actual impact," wrote another. The rules of this particular Polymarket bet state: "This market will resolve to 'Yes' if Iran initiates a drone, missile, or air strike on Israelâ(TM)s soil on the listed date in Israel Time (GMT+2). Otherwise, this market will resolve to 'No'." However, there is a clause: "Missiles or drones that are intercepted... will not be sufficient for a 'Yes' resolution, regardless of whether they land on Israeli territory or cause damage." This is when Emanuel realized that his "minor report" of a missile strike "was now in the middle of a betting war, with those who had bet 'No' on an Iranian strike on Israel on March 10 demanding I change my article to ensure they would win big." When he refused, some of the Polymarket gamblers escalated to harassment, fabricated messages, bribery attempts, and explicit threats against him and his family. "You have no idea how much youâ(TM)ve put yourself at risk," wrote a user by the name of Haim. "Today is the most significant day of your career. You have two choices: either believe that we have the capabilities, and after you make us lose $900,000 we will invest no less than that to finish you. Or end this with money in your pocket, and also earn back the life you had until now.â After he didnâ(TM)t respond, Haim sent me another series of messages: âoeYou are choosing to go to war knowing that you will lose your life as youâ(TM)ve grown accustomed to it â" for nothing.â He messaged again: âoeYou have exactly a few hours left to fix your attempt at influencing [the market]. It would be stupid of you to ignore this.â Haim also gave specific detailed threats about his neighborhood, parents, and family.
Published on 2026-03-16T21:00:00Z
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Times of Israel, written by journalist Emanuel Fabian: On Tuesday, March 10, a massive explosion shook the city of Beit Shemesh, just outside Jerusalem, in yet another Iranian ballistic missile attack during the ongoing war. Rescue services scrambled to the scene in search of possible casualties, though as it turned out, the projectile had struck a forested area just outside the city, around 500 meters from homes. On The Times of Israel's liveblog that day, I reported that the missile had hit an open area and no injuries were caused, citing the rescue services, as well as footage that emerged showing the massive explosion caused by the missile's warhead. But what I thought was a seemingly minor incident during the war has turned into days of harassment and death threats against me. Emanuel received numerous emails, messages and calls from individuals urging him to change the report to say the missile had been intercepted. "It was indeed a little strange to receive the same question, about something relatively inconsequential, from two different people within a day," he said, until eventually making the Polymarket connection after noticing two users on X respond to his story with apparent ties to Polymarket... "There are people saying that they have received word from you that the missile strike in Beit Shemesh on March 10th was in fact intercepted, is this true or did no such interaction occur?" wrote one of the users. "was there any video of the actual impact," wrote another. The rules of this particular Polymarket bet state: "This market will resolve to 'Yes' if Iran initiates a drone, missile, or air strike on Israelâ(TM)s soil on the listed date in Israel Time (GMT+2). Otherwise, this market will resolve to 'No'." However, there is a clause: "Missiles or drones that are intercepted... will not be sufficient for a 'Yes' resolution, regardless of whether they land on Israeli territory or cause damage." This is when Emanuel realized that his "minor report" of a missile strike "was now in the middle of a betting war, with those who had bet 'No' on an Iranian strike on Israel on March 10 demanding I change my article to ensure they would win big." When he refused, some of the Polymarket gamblers escalated to harassment, fabricated messages, bribery attempts, and explicit threats against him and his family. "You have no idea how much youâ(TM)ve put yourself at risk," wrote a user by the name of Haim. "Today is the most significant day of your career. You have two choices: either believe that we have the capabilities, and after you make us lose $900,000 we will invest no less than that to finish you. Or end this with money in your pocket, and also earn back the life you had until now.â After he didnâ(TM)t respond, Haim sent me another series of messages: âoeYou are choosing to go to war knowing that you will lose your life as youâ(TM)ve grown accustomed to it â" for nothing.â He messaged again: âoeYou have exactly a few hours left to fix your attempt at influencing [the market]. It would be stupid of you to ignore this.â Haim also gave specific detailed threats about his neighborhood, parents, and family.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Comments
Post a Comment