I think prediction markets are pretty neat. They were the primary way of predicting the outcome of elections prior to the invention of modern opinion polling.

In recent weeks the polymarket for the US presidential election has noticeably diverged from the polling. The polls have stayed flat, it’s essentially a coin flip as to who will win. The prediction markets have broke to Trump with a 60% chance of winning. Is this a real shift that bettors are seeing vs the polls or is someone manipulating the market. You could make the argument that placing bets on your preferred candidate is a capital efficient way of shifting the outcome. Journalists use the markets to shape their coverage and will start writing articles about momentum when they see the prediction markets shift. Elections are very messy so it’s easy enough to find evidence of momentum in any direction if you’re looking for examples to fit the narrative. And the narrative about a candidate pulling ahead will lead to more press and focus and is likely to help the candidate get more votes on Election Day.

All of this to say it appears one person is attempting to do this in favor of Trump.