Santos: Kalshi Hid Influencer Posts Claim

Former US Representative George Santos claimed that prediction market company Kalshi told paid influencers not to disclose political promotional posts as sponsored content. Santos spoke with former Virginia Democratic Senate candidate Mark Moran on the New Normal podcast. According to him, in some messages staff asked that posts be made to look like organic opinions.

Santos said these posts were especially common on the X platform. However, he did not reveal who sent the messages or the messages themselves. The outlet said it could not independently verify the messages. Kalshi did not comment until the report was published.

Moran made a claim about the company's disciplinary process. According to him, refusing to make a public statement led to the proposed 800 dollar fine rising to more than 6,200 dollars.

Santos compared the company with rival Polymarket. According to him, Polymarket asks its paid partners to disclose their relationships. Santos noted that while he was a paid promoter for Polymarket, his relationship with the company ended after it was found that he had traded on Kalshi following his attendance at the State of the Union address.

According to a Politico report, Polymarket Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Modabber sent at least 350,000 dollars to content creators between January 2025 and February 2026. About twenty-four creators promoted Polymarket on X at least 490 times without disclosing the payments. Modabber was dismissed last week. With midterm elections approaching, Santos argues that the FTC and FEC should examine the matter. Whether it amounts to a legal violation depends on who paid whom, what the content was, and whether it counts as political advertising.