Wars in the 21st century generate unusual stories. The illegal offensive by the US and Israel against Iran is straining the international energy market after the Strait of Hormuz will become impassablebut the endless economic analyzes or comments like those pale in comparison to the story that an Israeli journalist has starred in these days.
His name is Emanuel Fabian, and he is the newspaper’s military affairs correspondent. The Times of Israel. Last Tuesday, March 10, Fabian published information after an impact on a depopulated area near Jerusalem. Since then, the journalist has not stopped receiving death threats and demands that he modify his article, indicating that it was not an Iranian missile, but rather the remains of an intercepted projectile.
First he received an email from a person who identified himself as Aviv. “In relation to your report, both the municipality and the Red Star of David They corrected their reports to clarify that the impact was not from a missile, but from the fall of a fragment of an Israeli interceptor (…). I would appreciate it if you would update your article, as it does not reflect reality.” Fabian replied that his sources in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) maintained the information that it was an Iranian missile.
In fact, the journalist even shared a tweet in which a video of the impact can be seen. “Normally, you don’t produce an explosion of that magnitude,” he tried to explain. It didn’t matter. Fabian continued receiving emails. Some with a much more sinister tone. This time it was a guy who identified himself as Daniel. “I’m sorry to get in touch without introducing myself first, but I’m sure we’ll get to know each other well.“, he wrote to the worker’s attention.
“I have an urgent request regarding the accuracy of your reporting on the March 10 missile attack. It is inaccurate and is causing a number of errors. If you could respond to me before tonight it would help me, to many other people and, of course, to the State of Israel.” The journalist was surprised to receive two emails from two different people making the same request on the same day.
The emails went further: “My article had become the epicenter of a big bet”
Emanuel Fabian, who recounts everything he has experienced in a new article in the newspaper for which he works, details that that same day he decided to leave the last emails unanswered, at the insistence of those who demanded a rectification as urgent as possible. “It is very important that you correct your article as soon as possible.” I no longer only received emails. Also responses on social networks like X (formerly Twitter).
At that moment Fabian detected a pattern: many of the social media users who wrote to him had their profiles full of comments about their activity on online betting platforms. Specifically, of Polymarket“one of the largest prediction markets in the world”, writes the journalist himself. “They wanted to confirm whether or not a missile had hit Israel on March 10, in order to settle a bet.”
The specific bet asked whether Iran had attacked Israel on March 10. Thousands of people even bet $14 million on that prediction. He Yeah would win if Iran initiated an attack with drones and missiles on Israeli territory. However, a clause warned that Yeah It would not be valid if all Iranian drones and missiles were intercepted. This was not the case with the projectile that yes it managed to impact that day near Jerusalem.
“My brief report on the impact of a missile in a depopulated area had become the epicenter of a betting war, where those who had bet on the no They demanded that I modify my article to ensure profits“, writes the columnist.
Then came the threats: the journalist has already put him in the hands of the police
Finally, the journalist was forced to put this case in the hands of the police. They were no longer emails or tweets. started receiving messages via WhatsApp. Some maintained the conciliatory tone of the beginning. Others began to escalate the issue. “You have exactly half an hour to correct your report.” “If they don’t correct this before one in the morning, you will suffer damage you never imagined.”
“You have no idea how much you have put at risk: today is the most important day of your career. You have two options: If you make us lose $900,000 We will invest at least that amount to finish you off. The other is that you end up with that amount in your pocket and you recover the life you had until now.”
Emanuel Fabian even received calls from a supposed American lawyer who was interested in alleged betting manipulation (of which she accused him), so he decided to silence the phone and go to the police. In parallel, the messages continued to arrive: “You have 90 minutes. You’re doing something stupid.”
These prediction markets have been causing controversy for some time now. Just last month, also in Israel, a reservist and a civilian were charged with using inside information to manipulate bets. Less popular in Spain (where sports betting is still king), in countries like the US some of the “prediction” platforms host even betting operations. more than 44 billion dollars.
