A gambler on the gambling platform 'Polymarket' threatened a journalist, saying, 'I'll kill you if you don't rewrite my article about the Iranian missile attack.'
Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don't rewrite an Iran missile story | The Times of Israel
https://www.timesofisrael.com/gamblers-trying-to-win-a-bet-on-polymarket-are-vowing-to-kill-me-if-i-dont-rewrite-an-iran-missile-story/
'Bone-Chilling': Gamblers 'Vowing to Kill' Journalist Unless He Changes Iran War Report to Help Them Win Polymarket Bet | Common Dreams
https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-journalist-polymarket-threats
On March 10, 2026, a massive explosion occurred in Bet Shemesh , a city near Jerusalem, due to an Iranian missile attack. Fortunately, the missile landed in a forested area about 500 meters from the city center, and there were no injuries.
Fabian reported on this missile attack in the Times of Israel, including footage from the time. The following video, which Fabian cited, clearly shows a large explosion in the forest.
No injuries are reported in Iran's latest ballistic missile attack on Israel, the fourth today.
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) March 10, 2026
One missile struck an open area just outside Beit Shemesh, first responders say and footage shows.
Sirens had sounded across the Jerusalem area, the West Bank, and parts of southern… pic.twitter.com/j6sovAsDwz
On the afternoon of the day Fabian reported on the matter, he received a message from a man named Aviv asking him to correct his report. Aviv claimed that other media outlets had corrected their reports, stating that 'it was not the entire missile that fell, but fragments of an interceptor missile,' and that 'the article does not reflect reality, so it would be appreciated if you could update it.' In response, Fabian explained that according to information he had received from the Israeli military, it was indeed the missile's warhead that hit, and that the explosion recorded on the video could not have occurred from just fragments falling.
However, the inquiries to Fabian did not end there. The following day, on the 11th, he received an email from a person named Daniel that read, 'I have an urgent request regarding the accuracy of your reporting on the March 10th missile attack. I would appreciate it if you could respond if possible. Your reporting on the March 10th missile attack is inaccurate and is causing a chain reaction of errors.' 'If you could reply to me tonight, it would be helpful not only to me but also to many people, and of course to the State of Israel.'
Fortunately, no one was injured in the missile strike, so Fabian was puzzled as to 'why they were making such a big deal out of something so trivial.' However, Daniel continued to send emails repeatedly, and on the 12th, he showed that Fabian's report had been quoted in overseas media and requested, 'Please do it again. It would be a great help if you could respond as soon as possible. It's really important, preferably this morning.'
After that, he received similar emails from other anonymous users, and messages questioning the accuracy of the article were sent via Discord. Apparently, one user even replied to Fabian's post on X saying, 'Someone told me that they received a message from you saying that the missile attack on Viet Shemeş on March 10 was actually intercepted. Is this true?'
Suspicious, Fabian investigated the multiple X accounts that had sent him replies and discovered that all of them were involved in gambling on Polymarket. Polymarket is one of the world's largest prediction markets, where users can bet on various real-world events using cryptocurrencies, credit cards, and other methods.
The people who contacted Fabian this time were betting on the topic, 'Do you think Iran will attack Israel?' The conditions of the bet were that if Iran launched drone attacks, missile attacks, or airstrikes against Israeli territory on a specified date in Israeli time, the result would be 'yes,' and if not, the result would be 'no.' Furthermore, if the missiles or drones were intercepted, and the fragments or debris fell on Israeli territory, the condition for 'yes' would not be met.
As of March 10th, this topic had a total of over $14 million (approximately 2.23 billion yen) bet on it, and Fabian's seemingly insignificant report that 'an Iranian missile landed in a forested area but there were no injuries' unexpectedly became a crucial factor that could determine the outcome of a large sum of money. The people who contacted Fabian had bet on 'no,' and were asking him to correct the article in order to win their bet.
Messages continued to pour in for Fabian. Some attached screenshots of his correspondence with Daniel, rewritten to make it seem as though Fabian had promised to correct the article, and asked when the correction would be made. Another person asked a journalist from another media outlet to 'persuade Fabian to correct the article.' This journalist was unaware of Polymarket, but after hearing Fabian's explanation, he questioned his acquaintance, who admitted to betting on Polymarket and offered to pay him a reward from his winnings if he succeeded in persuading Fabian.
Naturally, Fabian was confident in the accuracy of his reporting and refused to comply with these requests for corrections. However, in the late hours of March 14-15, he began receiving threatening messages on WhatsApp from someone named Haim, who said, 'You have exactly 30 minutes to correct your attempt to exert influence,' and 'If you do not correct this by 1 AM on March 15, you will bring upon yourself damage you never could have imagined.'
Heim repeatedly attempted to call Fabian via WhatsApp and subsequently sent messages such as, 'You have no idea how dangerous your situation is,' and 'You're going to war for no reason, knowing full well that you'll lose a life you're familiar with.' He also mentioned the area where Fabian is believed to live, as well as his parents and family, threatening that they would be targeted by wealthy individuals who lost bets. Fabian also reportedly received a call from someone claiming to be a lawyer, who said that an American company had requested an investigation into suspected manipulation of Polymarket.
On the afternoon of the 15th, Heim sent the most blatant threat yet. The message reportedly contained threats of murder, such as: 'You have 90 minutes to correct your lies. If you do this, you can solve the most serious problem you've ever brought upon yourself in one minute. And in a week you won't remember me at all.' 'If you don't correct it and leave the lies as they are, there will come along who will pay any price to ruin your life within the bounds of the law.' 'As far as I know, there are people who don't care about the law at all, and those people will suffer losses of about 50 times the amount you earn.' '86 minutes left. You are responsible for your own life.'
Ultimately, Haim's threats ran out of time before Fabian could go to the police station to present evidence. Police are currently investigating, but it appears that early on the 16th, Fabian received messages from Haim saying things like, 'You will pay the full price for your irresponsible actions,' and 'You'd better not sleep at night from now on. In any case, the next few months will not be easy.' Fabian has not replied to these messages.
In an interview with the Times of Israel on the 16th, Polymarket stated, 'Polymarket condemns any harassment or intimidation directed at Emmanuel Fabian or anyone else. Such behavior violates our terms of service and is unacceptable anywhere, not even on our platform. Prediction markets rely on the credibility of independent reporting. Forcing journalists to change their reporting undermines that credibility and weakens the market itself.'
On the same day, Polymarket's X account issued a statement condemning these threats, reporting that all related accounts had been suspended and the information had been provided to the relevant authorities.
Polymarket condemns the harassment & threats directed at Emanuel Fabian — or anyone else for that matter.
— Polymarket (@Polymarket) March 16, 2026
This behavior violates our Terms of Service & has no place on our platform. We've banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities.
Fabian expressed concern that while the gamblers' attempt at blackmail failed, it's uncertain whether other journalists would be able to act similarly. Indeed, there have been past cases of Israeli military intelligence being leaked and used for gambling on Polymarket, and accounts that supposedly had prior knowledge of the US operation to detain Venezuelan President Maduro making a fortune.
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