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Polymarket let people bet on when Iran would strike Israel. A journalist who covered the war got death threats.

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An Israeli journalist said Polymarket users tried to bribe him and threatened to kill him after he reported that an Iranian missile had struck Israel earlier this month.

Polymarket later condemned the harassment and said the conduct violated its rules.

“We’ve banned the accounts for all involved & will pass their info to the relevant authorities,” the company wrote on X.

Emanuel Fabian, a military correspondent for The Times of Israel, wrote this week that the harassment began with emails pressing him to revise a blog post saying a missile hit an area roughly 500 meters from homes in Beit Shemesh, a small city in central Israel.

The initial outreach, written in Hebrew, was polite, Fabian wrote. “Regarding your Times of Israel report that described today’s launch as an ‘impact’ — Beit Shemesh Municipality and MDA (Magen David Adom) later corrected their reports to clarify that what fell was an interceptor fragment, not a full missile,” the first email said, referring to an Israeli emergency-response service.

Follow-up messages from others were more insistent. “I have an urgent request regarding the accuracy of your report on the missile attack on March 10. I would really appreciate a response if possible,” read one.

Fabian wrote that he stood by the reporting, citing Israeli military information and video of a large explosion that, in his view, was inconsistent with interceptor debris.

What followed, he said, was a pressure campaign that spilled across email, X, Discord, WhatsApp, and backchannel outreach through another journalist.

Fabian described repeated requests to change the wording of his report, which he believed was intended to influence the resolution of a Polymarket market tied to whether Iran struck Israel on that date. He said some messages — which didn’t explicitly mention Polymarket, but came from Polymarket users or seemed bizarrely hung up on his blog post — escalated into explicit threats.

“If you do not correct this by 01:00 Israel time today, March 15, you are bringing upon yourself damage you have never imagined you would suffer,” read one.

Fabian wrote that he went to the police and provided evidence.

Polymarklet didn’t answer questions from the Times of Israel about the details of the investigation. Representatives for Polymarket didn’t immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Advocates for prediction markets have said they encourage honesty by requiring users to put their money where their mouth is. Shayne Coplan, Polymarket’s founder, has said that people in the Middle East can use military-strike markets to decide whether they want to sleep near a bomb shelter.

The nitty-gritty details of contracts and how they are resolved can lead to contentious arguments. People on Polymarket who wagered on whether Iran would strike Israel by March 10 still haven’t gotten paid, as the contract appears to remain in dispute. Polymarket, which is legally based in Panama, uses a complex, crypto-based process to resolve disagreements.

Fabian isn’t the first person to say they were targeted by prediction market users. The NCAA has cited concerns with prediction markets, reporting that 36% of Division I men’s basketball players said they had been harassed by “someone with a betting interest.”

In January, the organization called for a pause on college sports-related betting prediction market betting until the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates the platforms, “implements appropriate regulations.”

Polymarket was valued at $9 billion last year and is seeking a $20 billion valuation in talks with investors, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. The company and its competitor, Kalshi, have poured millions of dollars into marketing online, on TV, and in real life, even giving people free groceries in New York City.

The largest chunk of activity on both platforms is betting on sports in a manner that competes with companies like DraftKings, BetMGM, and other traditional sportsbooks. The second-biggest category is speculating on cryptocurrency prices.

Business Insider has previously reported that Polymarket has drawn scrutiny from US lawmakers over concerns about manipulation, insider trading, and the difficulty of investigating crypto-based bets.

Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Greg Casar announced Tuesday that they will introduce the “Bets Off Act,” which would ban certain prediction market trades, including terrorism, war, and assassinations.

The attacks on Iran are only one of several geopolitical flashpoints that have been accompanied by concern about the prospect of people with insider information cashing in. One Polymarket user made several hundred thousand dollars correctly betting on the US operation to remove Venezuela’s leader, Nicolas Maduro.




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This Pentagon announcement on an Operation Epic Fury soldier’s ‘believed to be’ death is very unusual

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The Pentagon last week announced the death of a US Army soldier killed while supporting Operation Epic Fury before a medical examiner had positively identified them. Former military spokespeople said that it was an unusual and awkwardly phrased departure from standard procedures.

In a press release titled, “DOW Identifies An Army Believed to Be Casualty,” the Department of Defense announced “the believed to be death” of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, an Army reservist who died during an Iranian strike that also killed five other troops in Kuwait.

According to the release, Marzan, a soldier with the 103rd Sustainment Command, “was at the scene of the incident on March 1, 2026, and is believed to be the individual who perished at the scene. Positive identification of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Marzan will be completed by the medical examiner.”

A defense official told Business Insider a medical examiner has since confirmed Marzan’s identity.


Screenshot of the DoD announcement.

Screenshot of the DoD announcement.

war.gov/screengrab



Prematurely announcing a death risks misidentification, which can erode public trust if corrections are later required, two former military spokespeople told Business Insider. They also said attention to detail and clarity in these communications shows respect.

“When a service member is killed in combat, they deserve better than this,” Joe Plenzler, a retired Marine lieutenant colonel who worked in public affairs during the Global War on Terror, wrote in a post to LinkedIn.

He told Business Insider separately that “it’s a simple matter of respect to make sure that everything is accurate.”

US Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, has reported seven US service members killed in action in the Iran war that began in late February. The fatal strike in Kuwait came as Iranian forces launched missiles into countries across the region. Marzan is the only service member in this conflict so far who has been described as “believed to be” dead.

Asked about the statement, the Office of the Secretary of Defense referred Business Insider to the Army, saying, “DOW announces, all follow-on questions go to the Army.” The Army did not provide comment to Business Insider.

Why the Pentagon statement was unusual

Typically, the military refers to a service member whose death has not yet been confirmed as “DUSTWUN,” short for “duty status — whereabouts unknown,” a retired Army spokesman who served during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan told Business Insider. The term is used when a service member’s absence is involuntary and their status cannot yet be confirmed.

Announcing a death before positive identification by a medical examiner marks a break from norms that governed casualty reporting over two previous decades of war, the former spokesman said. The DUSTWUN designation is intended for situations where ongoing rescue efforts prevent an immediate determination, though recovery of remains is not always required to declare a service member deceased, according to military policies outlining casualty procedures.

“We had thousands of casualties throughout the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and Syria,” said the retired Army official. “I don’t recall ever announcing someone as ‘believed to be a casualty.'”

Few communications are as important or sensitive as announcing a casualty, he said, describing a somber process honed after more than 7,000 US service member deaths during the Global War on Terror, according to Brown University’s Costs of War project.

Plenzler, the former Marine public affairs officer, told Business Insider that all communications related to sensitive topics, including casualties, were generally examined by at least three people before publication because of the heavy impact on public trust.

In his LinkedIn post, he recalled seeing “people removed from leadership positions for getting names incorrect during memorial services.”

While the former Army spokesman expressed disappointment in what they characterized as an awkwardly written DoD announcement, he also noted that many of the personnel who oversaw casualty communications during the height of the previous wars in the Middle East have since left the service, leaving newer troops to manage hard notifications and public messaging.

“We have been sort of out of this business now for several years,” he said.

Marzan, 54, lived in Sacramento and was assigned to an Iowa-based logistics unit. Business Insider could not reach a Marzan family member for comment.

Communicating casualty updates comes with a learning curve, the former Army spokesman said. The details of this release are unclear, but he said he hopes “they’ve learned a lesson from this.”

The announcement comes amid broader shifts in how the military communicates during fast-moving combat operations, including increased reliance on social media updates from combatant commands and the Pentagon. Communications once known for staid military-speak now often feature videos of US missile strikes or jets taking off, strong wartime rhetoric, or posts debunking Iranian “bogus claims.”




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Tim Paradis

I led communications at FEMA during a hurricane — and had to flee my home after a death threat

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This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jaclyn Rothenberg, senior vice president for reputation management at Avoq, a communications and lobbying firm. From July 2021 to late 2024, she was a spokesperson and director of public affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

It was the fall of 2024. I was the director of public affairs at FEMA during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which was a huge moment in the world of misinformation because there was so much of it, so fast. And it was in the middle of the election cycle.

My job was to communicate on behalf of the administration. The primary goal was to make sure that people were connected to services and support so they could get back on their feet.

In the middle of the response, as we were communicating safety and recovery information, other public officials and I were targeted. A mix of people were insinuating that we weren’t doing our job. They were also spreading misinformation.

As I reflect, what was really surprising to me at the time was getting attacked for my religion. I’m Jewish. There were a lot of people online who could say anything and everything without knowing me — very hurtful things.

‘How can you keep doing this?’

I remember my husband saying how upset he was. I think I had mentally tried to block out as much as I could because I felt empowered by continuing to do my job and communicating life-saving information.

I remember him saying, “How can you keep doing this?” The reality is, I was hired to do a job. In Judaism, they really do teach you to do what’s best for people. It’s a phrase called tikkun olam.

I continued to work through it as much as I could. The social media posts made fun of my appearance, my last name. There were very terrible things said and photos that were shared, and very antisemitic rhetoric.

It forced the agency to put security protection on me, because someone threatened to kill me. That was surreal because I was hired to be a communications lead for the agency. I was technically a political appointee, as a Biden administration official. Still, it felt like one of the first times when people weren’t just going after politicians, but also federal employees for doing what they were hired to do.

A contractor had been working with us to help identify misinformation. I believe they alerted the senior-most folks at my agency, who then brought the threat to my attention. Everyone was working almost 24-hour days. A colleague said, “We need to speak with you urgently.” They told me that there was a real, serious threat.

Staying vigilant

The catalyst was a public statement I had put out, pushing back against misinformation. I left my home because the people who were targeting me online found my address, my husband, and my parents. They looked into my work history. I called my husband and said, “We need to call our friends. We need to sleep there. Let’s get the dogs and go.”

Members of senior leadership personally reached out to ensure that I felt safe.

It wasn’t just my parents and my husband. They identified my extended relatives and posted those on social media. The agency worked hard to help me scrub some of that, and I’m thankful for it, but it’s something that a lot of companies should be thinking about. It’s important for people to stay vigilant.

It’s not just the CEO they’re going after

In hindsight, the incident was probably more traumatizing than it felt in the moment, because I think I was in shock. Also, I was still doing my job. I was committed to communicating in these critical moments for survivors, and I don’t think it fully hit me — the magnitude of that incident — until months later. The fact that I had to be silenced for my own protection and couldn’t help other people was hard for me.

I had to tone down public communication from the spokesperson account. I had to stop doing media interviews about the topics that I was trying to get out there. We saw a decrease in registration for assistance. There was real impact.

As a result, one of the things I’ve counseled clients on, both at the C-suite level and below, is that it’s not just the CEO they’re going after. They’ll go after the head of HR, the head of communications.

This is the new normal, unfortunately. It’s important for companies to do exercises on how to respond and how they can protect their senior executives and employees at the same time.

Companies have to think about what protection looks like from a privacy standpoint on social media. I don’t think people really realize the online footprint that they have.

Do you have a story to share about a challenging experience in your career? Contact this reporter at tparadis@businessinsider.com.




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Warren Buffett resigning as CEO but not chairman, said retiring worse than death

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Warren Buffett is days away from stepping down as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO, but at age 95, he’s skipping retirement to stay on as chairman. That’s not a shock from the investor who “tap dances to work.”

After revealing his resignation plans to Berkshire shareholders in May, Buffett said he would “still hang around” and “could conceivably be useful” to his successor, Greg Abel.

“I’m not going to sit at home and watch soap operas,” Buffett told The Wall Street Journal after his big reveal. “My interests are still the same.”

In his Thanksgiving letter, Buffett said he still works at Berkshire’s Omaha headquarters five days a week, and sometimes has a “useful idea” or gets approached with an offer.

Buffett’s lasting dedication isn’t surprising, as he’s famously devoted to Berkshire. Since taking control in 1965, he has transformed it from a failing textile mill into a world-beating conglomerate that owns scores of businesses such as Geico and NetJets, and huge stakes in public companies including Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz.

“We’ve got the best job in the world,” Buffett said about himself and the late Charlie Munger during Berkshire’s annual meeting in 2000. “We get to work with people we like and admire and trust every day of the year. We get to do what we want to do, the way we want to do it.”

Investing Berkshire’s capital inside and outside the company is the “most enjoyable thing to do in the world,” Buffett said during the 2012 meeting. “I get to paint my own painting,” he continued, adding that he has “a lot of fun” with his coworkers.

Buffett has said for decades that retirement doesn’t appeal to him, and he much prefers to keep working as long as possible.

“Berkshire is my first love and one that will never fade,” he wrote in his 1991 shareholder letter, recalling that when a student asked when he planned to retire, he replied: “About five to 10 years after I die.”

Buffett said during Berkshire’s 1996 meeting that the idea of retiring was “unthinkable” for him: “That would be the worst. I think death would be second.”




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