This article appeared as part of the Daily Sensemaker newsletter – one story a day to make sense of the world. To receive it in your inbox, featuring content exclusive to the newsletter, sign up for free here.
What do Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed misogynist, and the prediction platform Polymarket have in common? Both appear willing to trivialise the horrors of war. Tate is currently trying to get back into Dubai over land, calling the idea of being in the Middle East during a conflict “an epic story”. Polymarket, for its part, created and then this week removed a market that allowed people to bet on whether a nuclear weapon would be detonated over the next few months. The contract had generated hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers before it was pulled from the site. Suspicious betting patterns on Polymarket ahead of the US attack on Iran has raised fears of insider trading. A more dystopian concern is that the ability to profit off war may influence government decision-making. It seems to be influencing Tate’s.
Newsletters
Choose the newsletters you want to receive
View more
For information about how The Observer protects your data, read our Privacy Policy


