Prediction market bettors are the new political pundits. Why are we listening to them? | Judith Levine
Nov 02, 2026
Sites like Kalshi and Polymarket offer faux populism as elites reap the benefits – and voters risk being misledOnline betting is a bit like Donald Trump.The prediction markets – platforms where users bet on whether events will occur – pretend to be populist, pushing the nabobs aside and repres
enting the “wisdom of the crowd”. “This data is bottom-up, not elites-driven,” a Kalshi spokesperson told Reuters. But in fact, the markets are controlled by a few, skillful traders. Continue reading... ...read more read less